IDF soldiers in Hevron (file)
IDF soldiers in Hevron (file)Nati Shohat/Flash 90

Heavy mass Arab riots took place on Thursday morning in Hevron, the City of the Patriarchs located in Judea, in which the assailants hurled massive volleys of rocks.

The rioting was focused just outside the Cave of Machpelah where the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs other than Rachel are buried, and targeted several stores in the surrounding environs of the Cave.

An IDF soldier was lightly wounded in his leg by the rocks, but did not require medical treatment.

Thursday is the Jewish holiday of Purim, outside of Jerusalem where it is celebrated on Thursday night and Friday, and traditionally Arab rioters take advantage of the holiday to attack.

Those attacks have been particularly fierce in Hevron for the past 21 years since Dr. Baruch Goldstein shot 29 Arab Muslims dead at prayer in the city.

That attack, which occurred on Purim morning, targeted Muslims conducting their Friday prayers ahead of the month of Ramadan.

It also occurred on the background of rumors of a mass Hamas terror attack targeting the Jewish community of Hevron, and a wave of such attacks following the Oslo Accords.