Posted on 04/10/22
| News Source: JPost
Palestinian rioters vandalized Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday night amid clashes with the IDF, setting fire to the site, damaging the gravestone, a chandelier hanging above it, a water tank and an electricity closet.
The vandalism came amid the second night of arrest raids made by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, following a deadly terrorist attack on Thursday night on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv that claimed three lives.
The terrorist, Raad Hazem, 28, was from the nearby Palestinian city of Jenin.
“We will not accept this kind of an attack on a place that is holy to us, particularly on the eve of Passover,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. “We will reach the rioters. Of course, we will make sure to rebuild what they destroyed, as we always do,”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz called the destruction of the holy site “extremely serious” and said that he “sent a ‘sharp message’ to the Palestinian Authority about it.”
The attack on the Jewish holy site a few days before Passover stoked religious tensions, which were already high due to the concurrent Muslim month of Ramadan, as the international community has pressured Israel to ensure freedom of worship.
“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.
“The State of Israel will take action to ensure that the site will be refurbished and quickly returned to its original condition. In addition, we will take all the measures necessary to prevent such incidents.”