While the Palestinians keep worrying aloud about non-existent dark Zionist plots to “take over” or “destroy” Al-Aqsa Mosque, the real destruction of religious sites is that committed by the Palestinians themselves, who have in the past tried to destroy both Rachel’s Tomb and Joseph’s Tomb, doing great damage to both. The latest attack was on Joseph’s Tomb, which had been previously been attacked in 2015, by a Palestinian mob that had set the site on fire, Since then it has been repaired, and now it has, yet again, been the object of destruction by a mob of more than 100 Palestinians. A report on the attack is here: “Palestinians vandalize, set fire to Joseph’s Tomb; PM decries ‘shocking destruction,’” Times of Israel, April 10, 2022:
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett joined the condemnation on Sunday of the overnight vandalism of Joseph’s Tomb near the West Bank city of Nablus, saying he was appalled by the images of the damage to the shrine.
On April 9, 2022, hundreds of Palestinians stormed the tomb, shattering the tombstone over the grave, a chandelier, and damaged the electrical enclosure.
“During the night Palestinians destroyed Joseph’s Tomb. Dozens of Palestinian rioters in a campaign of destruction simply violated a holy place for us, the Jews,” Bennett said at the start of the cabinet meeting.
Joseph’s tomb is one of the holiest sites in Judaism, especially to Orthodox Jews. As it is located in Area A of the West Bank, where the P.A. has near-total control, Jewish worshippers have been limited by the P.A. to heavily-guarded once-a-month pilgrimages to the tomb.
Joseph’s Tomb is also important to Christians and to Muslims, but to a much lesser extent than it is for Jews.
“They broke the tombstone on the grave, set fire to rooms in the compound — I saw the pictures and was shocked,” he [Bennett] said.
“We will not abide such an assault on a place that is holy to us — on the eve of Passover — and we will get to the rioters,” he said. “And of course we will make sure to rebuild what they destroyed, as we always do.”…
After four terror attacks on Israelis in a two-week period, resulting in 14 Israelis killed, the IDF and Shin Bet have begun a massive campaign to unearth both weapons and terrorist cells in the West Bank. They have paid special attention to Jenin, which has always been a hotbed of terrorists. Two of the last four attacks on Israelis were committed by terrorists from Jenin, and it is in Jenin that the IDF and Shin Bet have been concentrating their searches so far.
The IDF confirmed that special forces — including troops from the elite Shayetet 13 navy unit — carried out searches for weapons in the area [the Balata refugee camp in Jenin] and arrested eight Palestinians suspected of terror activity.
Footage showed dozens of Palestinians entering the site and smashing objects inside. The tomb is venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims, and has often been a flashpoint for violence.…
Joseph’s Tomb is venerated by all three faiths, but to very different degrees: it is most important to Jews, for whom it is one of the holiest of sites, and much less so to Muslims, who have been perfectly willing to destroy the Tomb in order to deprive Jews of a site they revere.
The entire top of the tombstone over the grave had been smashed in, as was a chandelier, and there was great damage to the electrical enclosure.
The Israelis have been here before. In 2015 Palestinians set fire to the Joseph’s Tomb compound, and it took considerable work to repair the damage. Now, again, the damage – especially the destruction of the cover to the cenotaph – is very great, and will have to be replaced by Israeli workmen who will need armed guards.
Bennett knows that to really protect Joseph’s Tomb would require an Israeli military presence at the site, which raises all kinds of problems, given that Area A, where Joseph’s Tomb is located, is supposed to be under the P.A.’s authority. Perhaps he thinks the P.A. can be pressured to provide much heavier round-the-clock security with its own guards at the site, but judging by the latest attack on Joseph’s Tomb, when the P.A. could have rushed to protect the site but failed to do so, Israel cannot count on the security services of the P.A.
“Gantz concluded by saying that he told the Palestinian Authority that it must increase security and take action against the rioters.
“This morning, I delivered a strong message to the Palestinian Authority, demanding the immediate reinforcement of their officials on-site and decisive action against rioters and terrorists that harm stability and security in holy places,” Gantz said.…
How likely do you think it is that the P.A. will search for, and arrest those who tried to destroy Joseph’s tomb? Perhaps Gantz should have accompanied that “strong message” with a threat: if the P.A. can’t or won’t provide a large force to guard Joseph’s Tomb round the clock, then the IDF will do so, and won’t take No for an answer.
Israel has gone out of its way to avoid offending Muslim sensibilities at religious sites. On the Temple Mount, Israel limits the number of Jewish visitors, and enforces a ban on Jewish prayer, and even on Jews silently mouthing prayers. Similarly, at Joseph’s Tomb, Israel limits Jewish visitors to one day every month. But that doesn’t diminish the murderous hatred of the Muslims that is still expressed: they throw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and even use guns, to attack the IDF troops protecting those once-a-month Jewish pilgrims.
In 2015 Palestinian arsonists set the Joseph’s Tomb and compound on fire, destroying much of it. It has since been repaired by the Israelis.
The overnight attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — often a period of high tension in Israel and the West Bank….
All over the Muslim world, Ramadan brings out violence toward Infidels – not just Jews, but also Christians and Hindus are the objects of upsurges in Muslim attacks during Ramadan.
So deep is the hatred of Palestinians for Jews, so eager are they to efface sites holy to Jews, that they are even willing to destroy places that are holy to Muslims, too. No Palestinian Muslim would have been sorry to see Joseph’s Tomb destroyed, even if it is a site for Muslim pilgrimage as well, as long as Jews were devastated.
The Israelis cannot return to the status quo. This is the second time a Muslim mob has inflicted great damage on Joseph’s Tomb and the compound. Once the Israelis have repaired the tombstone, they need to pressure the P.A. to allow a joint P.A-Israel force to guard Joseph’s Tomb against further attempts to destroy it. And if the P.A. is unwilling, then the IDF should undertake the task itself, without waiting for approval from the P.A. Israel is in no mood to tolerate further destruction by the Palestinians of religious sites holy to Jews, or to rely any more on the hollow assurances rom the P.A., promising to “guard the site.”
mgoldberg says
The arabs will say the Zionists burned the Tomb to make muslims look bad and too take control of it and Al-Aqsa. The UN Human Rights groups will say nary a thing, since it doesn’t fit their narrative… unless they turn it around and say, the Israeli’s caused this by ‘oppressing’ arabs in the west bank.
Infidel says
I used to think that Joseph’s tomb in Nablus was already destroyed, since I had read something to that effect years ago in the Jerusalem Post. Maybe it was just muslim garden variety vandalism
gravenimage says
Infidel. their was an arson attack against the tomb by Muslims in 2014, and again in 2015. Jews attending the tomb have also been attacked.
Then, this most recent vandalism involved an attack by an estimated *100* Palestinian Muslims. Even worse, a day later two Haredi Jews were shot on their way to the site.
Just never-ending…
gravenimage says
‘Palestinians’ Vandalize, Try to Destroy, Joseph’s Tomb
…………
So much for the idea that Muslims “respect” the prophets…
More:
Joseph’s Tomb is also important to Christians and to Muslims, but to a much lesser extent than it is for Jews.
…………
Yet it was not Christians involved in this destruction–just Muslims, of course.
And that this was done at Passover, as noted, is no coincidence.
OLD GUY says
The Islamic creed, destroy everything that is not ISLAM. Total world domination is the islamic plan and our western civilizations destruction. Funny our political leaders don’t want to recognize the truth, or is money and their false sense that they will remain in power blinding them?