Deborah Brand – April 10, 2022
Palestinian rioters on Saturday night vandalized Joseph’s Tomb, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, setting it on fire and smashing the gravestone.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed his “shock” over the incident that occurred near the West Bank city of Nablus.
“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.
“We will not stand by 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 reconstruct what they destroyed, as we always do.”
Around 100 Palestinians broke into the site overnight amid clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops nearby. The Israeli Defense Forces arrested eight Palestinian terror suspects.
The raids were in response to a deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv on Thursday night in which three Israelis were gunned down.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the vandalism was a “serious event,” and said he had sent a “strong message” to the Palestinian Authority about the attack on the shrine.
“The vandalism of Joseph’s Tomb is a serious event and a grave violation of freedom of worship in one of the holiest places for every Jew. It violates the feelings of the entire Jewish nation, especially when it occurs during the Muslim holy month,” Gantz said.