Joseph’s Tomb: A Jewish site with an ancient past Palestinians are intent to destroy | JNS.org

(April 17, 2022 / JNS) Revered by Jews as the burial place of the biblical patriarch, Joseph’s Tomb, frequently a target of Arab violence, on April 9 was once again vandalized by a Palestinian mob. Though under the Oslo agreements the tomb remained in Israeli hands despite being located in Area A of Judea and Samaria, the government abandoned the site days after a deadly attack there in Oct. 1, 2000. Following that attack, in which an Israeli Border Policeman was killed, the government decided that its location in Nablus (biblical Shechem) made it too difficult to defend. Although the government did elicit a promise from the Palestinian Authority that the site would be protected after Israeli security forces withdrew, it was destroyed shortly afterwards.