NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Dozens of settlers visited Joseph's tomb in Nablus early Monday, locals said.

More than 10 buses carrying the settlers were seen by the tomb amid a heavy Israeli military presence.

Israeli soldiers entered the city at 1 a.m. to provide security for the worshipers. Some local youth threw stones at the buses, witnesses said.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the second intifada, or uprising, and it was immediately destroyed and burnt by the Palestinians.

The restoration of the tomb was completed recently, and following improved security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the army allows Jewish worshipers to make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the site.