NABLUS, September 1, 2016 (WAFA) – Palestinian youths hurled stones at Israeli settlers early Thursday at Joseph’s Tomb, in the West Bank city of Nablus, said Palestinian security sources.

A convoy of buses packed with hundreds of settlers and escorted by Israeli soldiers forced their way into Joseph’s Tomb, located in a Palestinian-controlled area, where they performed religious rituals.

Palestinians threw rocks at the buses and the soldiers to protest the arrival of the settlers in Nablus.

Clashes also erupted as soldiers reportedly stormed and ransacked several homes and stores at the entrance to Balata refugee camp, not far from Joseph’s Tomb, seizing surveillance cameras.

Soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters at the Palestinians.

Israeli media reported a soldier was wounded after being shot from the direction of Balata refugee camp. His condition was described as stable.

Settlers repeatedly break into Joseph’s Tomb provoking confrontation with local residents.

The site of Joseph’s Tomb is contentious. Palestinians believe the site to be the funerary monument to Sheikh Yousef Dweikat, a local religious figure, while Israeli settlers believe it to belong to the biblical patriarch, Joseph.

K.F./M.A.