Description

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers shot two Palestinian men during clashes near Joseph's Tomb in Nablus at dawn Thursday, Palestinian security officials said.

Iyad Muin Muhammad Kalbuna, 23, was shot in his left foot while Muhammad Ghassan Hammad Hashash, 24, from Balata refugee camp, was shot in the thigh.

They were both taken to Rafidia hospital for treatment.

Clashes broke out as Israeli military forces escorted a bus of religious Jewish worshipers to the Nablus tomb overnight.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the Second Intifada, and it was immediately damaged and burnt by Palestinians.

Following security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli army allows Jewish worshipers to make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the site.