Those Jewish Extremists Try to Pray Again

Those Jewish extremists trying to pray again

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:02 AM PDT
Official Palestinian Arab news agency WAFA reports:

A group of Jewish settlers prayed at Joseph’s Tomb on Thursday, east of Nablus in the north West Bank, under the protection of Israeli forces.

Local sources said the worshippers snuck into the site under the protection of Israeli soldiers, prayed until the early hours of the morning and left, with no confrontations reported.

Israeli radio said forces stopped and arrested some 13 settlers while they were on their way to the tomb, although another group managed to enter the site despite the road blocks the Israeli army had set up.

I always wonder how they know that the worshipers are "settlers." Oh, right - all Israelis are "settlers"!

Hamas' Palestine Times in Arabic is a bit more strident - and fanciful:

In a new level of arrogance, about twenty Zionist extremist settlers blew up a roadblock Thursday east of Nablus and stormed Joseph's Tomb, where they performed Talmudic rituals, under the protection of the Zionist army, which was spread extensively in the vicinity of the region amid flying reconnaissance planes nearby.

Witnesses said that the settlers went to sabotage public utilities, destroying the electricity grid and throwing dirt and rubbish on the street nearby. They also burned tires during their withdrawal.

Israeli media is apparently not aware of any visits to the tomb last night, saying only that the IDF stopped dozens of would-be worshippers.

Joseph's Tomb as a Terrorist Incident

Palestinian' terrorists policemen (from the so-called Dayton forces) have attacked Jewish worshipers at Joseph's tomb in Shchem (Nablus). One Jew has been killed and five have been wounded. The 'Palestinians' are claiming it was an 'accident' resulting from a visit to the tomb that was not coordinated with the authorities, and - according to Israel Radio - that the Jews (who were in their cars) threw stones at a 'Palestinian' checkpoint.

According to initial investigations, the Israelis were traveling in the area without coordinating their visit to Joseph's Tomb and were reportedly shot at by Palestinian police.

Three vehicles with 15 Breslev hasidim entered the city in the early morning hours for prayer services. On the way back, around 6 a.m. they encountered a surprise checkpoint and were met with a hail of gunfire from a Palestinian jeep. The fire continued even after the vehicle turned back in an attempt to escape. Two of the three vehicles were hit.

The worshipers were able to evacuate themselves to the IDF Samaria district brigade base which was near by and received initial emergency medical care.

The death of a 30-year-old male was pronounced at the scene. A 20-year-old man was injured in serious condition, suffering of an abdominal wound. He was airlifted to Bellinson Hospital in Petah Tikva where he underwent surgery. A 17-year-old youth was evacuated by a Magen David Adom Yarkon crew in moderate condition, suffering a wound to his shoulder. Another youth was injured and evacuated for medical treatment after he was questioned by authorities. Another two were in light condition and were treated on scene.

In February, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) called on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to increase access to Joseph’s Tomb, located on the southern edge of Nablus, which has a waiting list of thousands of Jews wanting to make the pilgrimage.

At present, access to the tomb is limited to one nightly trip a month.

Israel Radio reports one person seriously wounded, two moderately wounded and two lightly wounded.

The Muqata has the story slightly differently and reports that the person who was killed - whose name has not yet been released - is a nephew of cabinet minister Limor Livnat (Likud):

Originally 3 carloads of Jews arrived at the tomb to pray, but PA policemen waiting there shot in the air and 2 of the cars immediately left. The third carload of Breslevers stayed to pray.

After the prayers, when the Hassidim were driving out, the Palestinian policemen (trained and funded by the US) drove their PA police jeep up to the car with the Hassidim in it and opened fire.

One Israeli, Ben-Yosef Livnat (age 30) was killed and 3 more injured. Livnat is the nephew of Minister Limor Livnat.

Nablus/Shechem Governor Jibril al-Bakri admits his policemen did the attack, calling it a "security incident" not a "terrorist attack". He also confirms the witness report that they first shot in the air when they saw the Breslev Hassidim who arrive there every week.

Here's what the Oslo accords say about Joseph's tomb, which is supposed to be under Israeli control with free access to Jews.

Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Annex I:
Protocol Concerning Redeployment and Security Arrangements
2. Area A

a. The Council will, upon completion of the redeployment of Israeli military forces it each district, as set out in Appendix 1 to this Annex, assume the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order in Area A in that district.

b. Jewish Holy Sites

(1) The following provisions will apply with respect to the security arrangements in Jewish holy sites in Area A which are listed in Appendix 4 to this Annex:

(a) While the protection of these sites, as well as of persons visiting them, will be under the responsibility of the Palestinian Police, a JMU shall function in the vicinity of, and on the access routes to, each such site, as directed by the relevant DCO.

(b) The functions of each such JMU shall be as follows:

(i) to ensure free, unimpeded and secure access to the relevant Jewish holy site; and

(ii) to ensure the peaceful use of such site, to prevent any potential instances of disorder and to respond to any incident.

(c) Given the Jewish religious nature of such sites, Israeli plainclothes guards may be present inside such sites.

(2) The present situation and the existing religious practices shall be preserved.
Appendix 4
Jewish Holy Sites

Pursuant to Article V of this Annex the Jewish Holy Sites are as follows:

1. Joseph's Tomb (Nablus)

JMU is "Joint Mobile Units." Here's the provision that deals with them:

5. Joint Mobile Units

a. The mission of the Joint Mobile Units (hereinafter "JMUs") is to provide rapid response in the event of incidents and emergency situations, in order to ensure free, unimpeded and secure movement along their designated routes of activity, or in their areas of activity. b. The composition of the JMUs will be similar to that of the Joint Patrols.

c. In areas under Israeli security responsibility, the Israeli vehicle will be the leading vehicle. In areas under Palestinian security responsibility, the Palestinian vehicle will be the leading vehicle. The Joint Mobile Units will be under the direction of the relevant DCO.

d. The functions of the JMUs are:

(1) to monitor movement along their designated routes of activity from their stationary locations, from where they may patrol on agreed roads as directed by the relevant DCO, in which case their duties will be the same as those of the Joint Patrols;

(2) in the event of an incident involving both Israelis and Palestinians, to reach the site of the incident in order to provide assistance and to investigate; and

(3) any other function determined by the relevant DCO.

As I am writing this, Israel Radio is interviewing one of the Breslev Hasidim who says that the shooting started while they were inside the gravesite. The 'Palestinians' also stoned the cars according to the person being interviewed by Israel Radio. The man who was killed took a bullet in the head that exited through his mouth.

Arutz Sheva adds (Hat Tip: My Right Word):

The PA security forces continued to fire at the cars as they fled.

The IDF hurriedly issued a statement that the trip to Kever Yosef was not coordinated with Israeli security forces.

Kever Yosef is a Jewish holy site that was supposed to be under Israeli control and open to worshippers as stated in previous agreements. However, the government has surrendered the area to Palestinian Authority control, and local Arabs have desecrated it several times.

The Breslov group was known to Palestinian Authority authorities as people who frequently prayed at Kever Yosef without any other intentions, according to Gershon Mesika, chairman of the Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council. He called the shooting attack a “massacre at close range.

National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari indirectly blamed the American government for having “trained and armed the enemy army that is called the ‘Palestinian Authority police’ [also known as the Dayton forces after US General Keith Dayton. CiJ] and is directly responsible for the murder at Kever Yosef.”

He called on the Israeli government to restore the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva to Kever Yosef and to confiscate weapons from the Palestinian Authority.

Of course, it will be claimed that the Jews had no right to be there, and therefore it was their fault. But if you read the agreements as I posted them above, you can plainly see that's a lie.

The picture at the top of this post is of Joseph's tomb in October 2000. As you may recall, at the beginning of the Oslo war, a 'Palestinian' mob attacked Joseph's tomb and destroyed it. An IDF soldier, Mahdat Yusuf, bled to death in that attack. The current defenseless defense minister, Ehud Barak, was the Prime Minister (and Defense Minister) then and refused to let the IDF go in to rescue the soldiers who were trapped there. Current IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was the Judea and Samaria commander at the time. The tomb was closed for nearly ten years after that incident, and was officially reopened a few months ago. The Bresolov Hasidim have tried bribing the 'Palestinian Authority in the past for additional access to the tomb. I guess that didn't work out too well.

Could this be the start of the Dayton forces' war on Israel?

Labels: Benny Gantz, Breslov, Dayton forces, Ehud Barak, IDF Judea and Samaria Division, intifadeh, Joseph's tomb, Madhat Yusuf, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem

Joseph's Tomb Update

Here's an even more disturbing account of Sunday morning's murder at Joseph's tomb.

One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.

"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air…I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.

"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."

...

Meanwhile the brother of the 17 year-old injured in the incident told Ynet that his brother and his friends went into Nablus without first coordinating the visit and knew that what they were doing was dangerous.

"When the entries are coordinated nothing happens, this time they entered without coordinating, it was criminal on their part," he explained. "To them this is all about the action and these are the consequences when you run wild."

Chairman of the 'Yesod Olam' association Haim Reicher who is responsible for arranging entries to holy gravesites in the West Bank also visited the injured in hospital. Reicher said that Sunday's foray into Joseph's Tomb was done without his coordination.

Reicher added that usually the visits are coordinated with Palestinian elements and then entry to the tomb is done without any difficulty, as with other holy sites in the West Bank.

"The problems start" Reicher notes, "once every month or two months we enter after first coordinating the visit with the IDF, they give us 10 buses, each one has up to 50 passengers but there are over 500,000 that want to pray at the tomb and the numbers approved by the IDF are insufficient. I can safely say that people go there to pray every night."

That certainly seems to back up the IDF claim that the visit was not coordinated.

But the 'Palestinian police' ought to be capable of doing something besides shooting to kill. The investigation is still pending, but there is no indication that these people were a threat to the 'Palestinian police' or that they were attempting to do anything other than pray at the grave. There is no indication that they were armed. Surely, there must be another method of police action aside from shooting to kill.

And the idea that they were shooting to kill and screaming Allahu Akhbar while doing so has to make every Israeli fear an encounter with the 'Palestinian police.' As if we didn't already.

UPDATE 4:42 PM

Haaretz claims to have results of the investigation. They claim that the Hasidim tried to run a roadblock.

A senior Israel Defense Forces termed the incident "a serious mishap caused by both sides." The army is refraining from referring to the shooting as a terror attack, but has called it an unjustified attack against civilians.

The Palestinian Authority opened its own investigation into the matter, and reported that that the officer on duty began shooting in the air in response to the Israelis' "suspicious movement".

Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned the incident as "murder" and ordered the IDF to carry out an investigation of its own. He also demanded the Palestinians probe the incident quickly and take every step necessary to perpetrate those responsible.

"No problem of coordination can justify an incident like this and the shooting of innocent people," he said.

The officers on duty during the shooting were detained for questioning by the Palestinian Authority, but it is not yet clear whether they will be taken in for investigation by Israeli forces as well.

Livnat and the other three casualties were part of a group of some 15 worshipers who entered the site in three separate cars without military authorization. A Palestinian Authority representative said that the officer fired into the air because he believed that the group was acting suspiciously, but did not aim at the car.

Then how did they 'happen' to shoot the people in the car?

And even if they ran a roadblock and you were suspicious that they had committed a crime, you could shoot the tires out of the car, and demand they come out with their hands behind their heads. There's no need to shoot to kill.

UPDATE 4:47 PM

The police have arrested three of the victims (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).

UPDATE 4:53 PM

Joshuapundit reports that Joseph's tomb was desecrated again before Sunday morning's visit.

Labels: Breslov, Dayton forces, Joseph's tomb, Palestinian police, Shchem

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:20 PM

Arab Mob Destroys Joseph's Tomb

Joseph's Tomb desecrated by Palestinian mobs October 7, 2000

If UNESCO's decision prevails, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's tomb face the same tragedy that befell Joseph's Tomb on October 7th, 2000. Under the Oslo Agreement, the Palestinian Authority (PA) was to protect holy sites, Jewish and Christian, and ensure access by all. However, when Israeli forces pulled out of the area, Palestinians mobs overran the site, killed a soldier, and ransacked the place, burning Jewish prayer books, and reducing the sacred site to a smoldering heap of rubble. An Associated Press dispatch reported, "the dome of the tomb was painted green and bulldozers were seen clearing the surrounding area," as the Palestinian Arabs sought to transform the biblical resting place of Joseph into a Muslim conquest.

The destruction of Joseph's Tomb was one piece of a calculated campaign by Muslim Arabs to write everyone else out of the history of the land of Israel. The same fate waits for Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb if we do not vigilantly protect our sacred sites.
UNESCO Defying its Mission to Preserve Heritage
by Denying Jewish Heritage
The UNESCO mission states: "Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration."

There must be no exception in UNESCO's mission when it comes to Jewish heritage. Israel's Jewish legacy must be recognized and preserved and not swept away to conform with the pro-Palestinian narrative. In attempting to sever the Jewish cultural, religious and natural heritage bond with the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb, UNESCO denies the history it is mandated to preserve, engages in a political maneuver designed to weaken a member UN nation, and undermines its own principles. It aims to rob the Jewish people not only of two sacred sites, which are irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration, but also of their past and a legacy to pass on to future generations. We demand that UNESCO, whose purpose it is to protect heritage, also protect Jewish heritage, rather than deny it.

SIGN THE PETITION TO UNESCO