Five tourists were attacked by local residents in the occupied West Bank town of Hebron Thursday evening, the Israeli army said.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that the tourists had "accidentally entered Hebron" in their private vehicle. Palestinian residents threw rocks and a Molotov cocktail at the car, leaving two of the passengers injured, they added.
Tensions have been on the rise between Israeli forces and settlers illegally stationed in the occupied West Bank and local Palestinian residents since a Palestinian baby and his father were killed in an arson attack carried out by Jewish extremists on July 31.
According to Israeli media, the tourists came under attack in Hebron while on their way to a religious site in the city, known by Jews as Tomb of the Patriarchs, and revered as the Ibrahimi Mosque by Muslims.
The city of Hebron is divided by Israeli authorities into a complex web of Palestinian and Israeli-controlled areas through which Israeli settlers and non-Palestinians can easily pass.
After a Jewish extremist massacred 29 Palestinians inside of the Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994, the holy site was divided by Israeli authorities into a mosque and synagogue, often with the two faiths allowed entry on different days.
Today around 700 settlers — protected by thousands of Israeli forces — live in 80 homes in the heart of Hebron's Old City, many of whom have illegally occupied Palestinian homes and continue to remove the area's inhabitants.
