UN chief condemns Palestinian arson attack at Joseph’s Tomb

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned the arson attack earlier in the day by some 100 Palestinian rioters at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus in the West Bank.

“This reprehensible act is yet another example of the escalating violence in the region, threatening to further inflame sensitivities owing to the religious significance of Joseph’s Tomb,” deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

“The secretary-general calls on all sides to respect the sanctity of all holy sites, refrain from any inflammatory actions or statements and reject the extremist elements that are pursuing a political agenda seeking to transform the current situation into a religious conflict,” he added.

The pre-dawn attack blackened exterior walls of the stone structure located near the Balata refugee camp and a scene of Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the past.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had also condemned the attack, promising an investigation and quick repairs to the shrine.

In response to the arson attack, the Israeli Foreign Ministry charged that the incident showed that only Israel could protect religious sites.

“Israel condemns in no uncertain terms the harm to Joseph’s Tomb committed for the sole reason that it is a place where Jews pray. The torching of Joseph’s Tomb clearly demonstrates what would happen to the holy places in Jerusalem if they were placed in the hands of the Palestinian leadership,” Director General Dore Gold said in a statement.

“Only Israel can protect the holy places of all religions in Jerusalem,” he said, adding that “the Palestinian attack on Joseph’s Tomb recalls the actions of extremist Muslim groups from Afghanistan to Libya.

Some calls were heard from the Israeli right to retake control of the shrine in the wake of the attack.

The incident came on a “Day of Rage” called by Hamas which saw yet another stabbing attack later in day Friday. A Palestinian man posing as a journalist stabbed an IDF soldier near Hebron, wounding him moderately. The attacker was shot dead.

The assault follows several weeks of deadly unrest including a wave of near-daily terror attacks that have claimed the lives of seven Israelis since the beginning of this month. In addition, several dozen Israelis have been wounded in the attacks.

In comments earlier Friday, Assistant UN Secretary General Taye-Brook Zerihoun told the Security Council that the UN chief “strongly condemns this reprehensible act and calls on those responsible to be swiftly brought to justice,” but Zerihoun also criticized what he called Israel’s “apparent heavy-handed” use of force in dealing with Palestinian violence and said Israeli actions raised “serious questions” about the proportionality of the response.

He said the current crisis could not be solved by military means alone and was a result of ongoing despair by the Palestinians coupled with a lack of hope in the face of ongoing settlement expansion, as well as economic hardship. He accused both sides of escalating the tensions through their fiery rhetoric and called on all parties to work to restore calm.

While Ban’s representative welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin’s Netanyahu’s repeated statements that Israel does not intend to change the status quo at the Temple Mount, he said statements were insufficient, as growing movements within the Israeli right were seeking to expand Israeli control over the compound, and were promoting their agenda through words and actions.

Jerusalem, he said, needed to do more on the ground to assure the world that it was committed to the status quo.

The Israeli government has repeatedly denied any intention of altering the status quo on the site, the holiest in Judaism and third-holiest in Islam, where Jews are currently permitted to visit but not to pray.

Israel on Friday also rejected Palestinian calls for an international force to be deployed in East Jerusalem to promote calm around the Temple Mount and the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“Let me be crystal clear — Israel will not agree to any international presence on the Temple Mount. Such a presence would be a change in the status quo,” Israeli Deputy Ambassador David Roet told the UN Security Council.

The 15-member council met in an emergency session to discuss weeks of escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the territories.

The urgent talks were requested by council member Jordan following a meeting on Thursday of Arab ambassadors who expressed alarm at the escalating situation.

Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour had called on the Security Council to provide international protection to the holy site.

But Roet said Israel was respectful of all religions in the city. Meanwhile, he said, the Palestinians were unwilling to acknowledge any Jewish rights to the capital’s holy sites.