After arson, calls on the right to retake control of Joseph’s Tomb

Right-wing ministers and groups are calling for Israel to retake control of the shrine near Nablus known as Joseph’s Tomb, believed to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch, after Palestinian rioters torched the site last night.

“We saw, in great pain, the difficult pictures from Joseph’s Tomb and are shocked at the harm done to a place holy to the Jewish people,” Avi Roeh, chairman of the Yesha Council settlement advocacy group, says in a statement.

“It turns out yet again that there is no alternative to Israeli sovereignty when it comes to protecting holy sites. We demand the return of Israeli control at the site, and opening it to Jewish worship on a permanent basis.”

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel echoes the call, and blames “Palestinian incitement” for the incident.

“Torching one of the places holy to the Jewish people is a new low, and a result of Palestinian incitement. While the Palestinians brazenly lie about us harming the status quo on the Temple Mount, they go out and burn and desecrate the sacred places of Israel, and that won’t be forgiven,” he says, adding, “I call on the prime minister to return control of Joseph’s Tomb to Israel.”