Thousands visit disputed West Bank tombs

Thousands of devout Jews descended on a Palestinian village April 8 in a rare pilgrimage to three disputed tombs.

The visit, made under the guard of soldiers enforcing a curfew on local residents, took place before dawn April 9 to try to avoid provoking trouble with the Palestinians of Kifl Hares, who say the graves hold the remains of Muslims.

Earlier this year, a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to add the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem to a list of Israeli heritage sites set off weeks of clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli troops. — ap