Prayers on the men’s side of Rachel’s Tomb. Photo: PD.

JNS.org – A firebomb was thrown at Jewish worshippers on Monday at Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem.

Jerusalem police said that “an object was thrown at the Tomb of Rachel, near the wall of the facility; there were no casualties and no damage was caused.”

Rabbi Tzvi Uziyahu, one of the rabbis administering Rachel’s Tomb institutions, told Israel National News, “By God’s grace we had a miracle. If God forbid the explosives had ignited, there would have been many casualties at the bus stops and at the entrance to the tomb.” Jewish studies and prayers continued at Rachel’s Tomb despite the firebomb attack, he added.

Located on the northern edge of Bethlehem, the tomb is revered as the burial place of the Jewish biblical matriarch Rachel, the wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. It is considered one of Judaism’s holiest sites.

Israel regained control of Rachel’s Tomb in the 1967 Six-Day War. As part of the 1993 Oslo Accord, the site is under Israeli jurisdiction as part of Area C in the disputed territories. Today, the tomb is surrounded by Israel’s West Bank security fence due to concerns about Palestinian terrorism.