PA Arabs Set Fire to Joseph's Tomb, Later Claim He Was a Muslim

by Ezra HaLevi
February 14, 2008

Joseph's Tomb before the PA Arabs arrived in Israel
Photo: Courtesy

Palestinian Authority Arabs set fire to Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus) Tuesday. The burial site of the Biblical Joseph is supposed to be protected under all agreements with the PA.

The attack was first reported by World Net Daily's Aaron Klein, who spoke with a Fatah official who confirmed the attack.

The Arab official said PA forces were alerted Tuesday that 16 burning tires had been thrown inside the tomb, which had already been smashed and torched in 2000. He said that there was fire damage to the holy site and reported that the PA, fearful of embarrassment, set up a team to figure out who was behind the attack.

The arson comes shortly after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would instruct the security establishment to coordinate the reconstruction of the site with the PA.

When Israel handed Shechem over to PA control following the 1993 Oslo Accords, a stipulation was freedom of access to the site for Jews. Buses would transport visitors and a yeshiva was present at the site, though it was declared that Jews could not stay in the city overnight. The compound and structure surrounding the tomb were smashed to bits after the IDF abandoned the site in 2000, with the outbreak of the Oslo War. PA Arabs proceeded to paint its dome green and declare it a mosque in the days following the initial abandonment.

A follow-up report by WND's Klein Thursday elicited a statement from Fatah referring to the tomb as the “burial site of the holy Muslim Joseph” and promising to guard “this holy Muslim site."