Five yeshivah students had to be rescued by IDF soldiers after being confronted by Palestinians at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus.
The students were reported to have made an unauthorised visit to the holy site after it was set ablaze by a Palestinian mob on Thursday.
Around 30 worshippers entered the tomb without obtaining security clearance.
Palestinian police were alerted and a confrontation followed.
The worshippers were dragged from their car and their vehicles torched, reports said.
Israeli police said most of the group escaped but the five students – said to be members of the strictly Orthodox
Breslov sect - were caught by Palestinian police officers who beat them. They suffered bruises, and were treated at the scene by IDF paramedics.
They were then removed by soldiers and later appeared in court to be remanded for violating security regulations.
They said they had gone to the tomb in order to paint it after the arson attack.
Police described their actions as irresponsible. Israeli entering the area were endangering their lives they said.
