World Bulletin / News Desk

Hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed a local shrine in the West Bank city of Nablus in the early hours of Wednesday, sparking clashes with Palestinian youths.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinians who had gathered to protest the Jewish settlers' presence at Joseph's Tomb, a holy site venerated by both Muslims and Jews.

“At least 750 Jewish settlers stormed the shrine and performed Talmudic rituals under the protection of Israeli police,” Ahmed Shamekh, chairman of the services committee at the nearby Balata refugee camp, told Anadolu Agency.

Tens of Palestinians gathered to protest the storming, he said, but the Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the angry youths. At least 12 Palestinians suffered teargas inhalation.

Joseph's Tomb has long been a flashpoint for violence.

Jews believe the site to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph. Muslims, however, challenge this claim, saying an Islamic cleric – Sheikh Yussef Dawiqat – was buried at the site two centuries ago.