Muslims Burn Joseph’s Tomb - Again

For all the outrage over the cartoons of Mohammed, for all the outrage over the mythical flushing of a Koran, for all the rage over infidels being in Saudi Arabia, Muslims don’t mind destroying sites considered sacred, even to them:

Palestinians yesterday tried to burn down Joseph’s Tomb – Judaism’s third holiest site – according to Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.

It marks the second time the Palestinians attempted to burn down the tomb, located near Nablus, the biblical city of Shechem.

Joseph’s Tomb is the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became viceroy of Egypt.

Palestinian security officials in Nablus said yesterday they were called to the tomb to find 16 burning tires inside the sacred structure.

This latest attack comes:

…after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced last week he would ask Israel’s Defense Ministry to work with the PA to reconstruct and restore the tomb, parts of which were destroyed by Palestinians, including known PA security officers, in 2000.

Now here is a good look at the lack of common sense of these knuckleheads.

The Israelis show interest in repairing a scared site, so the jihadis attack it. But Joseph is also known as Yousef in the Koran, and is considered one of the “prophets.” In fact, they consider the site sacred too and don’t even let Israelis in there anymore, except under guard.

These guys are determined to desecrate and destroy the tomb of a holy figure in Islam, just because it will hurt Israel too:

In 1995, the settlement was transferred to Palestinian National Authority jurisdiction,[citation needed] however Israeli troops continued to control the site to ensure free access to students and pilgrims per the Oslo accords. During the Western Wall Tunnel riots in 1996, the tomb was attacked and six Israeli soldiers were killed.

Near the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, the shrine became a target of armed militant demonstrators. Seventeen Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in fighting around the tomb. On October 7, 2000 the Israeli army withdrew from the site leaving it in the hands of the Palestinians. Soon afterward, the abandoned tomb and army post were ransacked (the outpost and yeshiva were destroyed in the attack); the Palestinian police allegedly allowed the ransacking to go ahead without intervention.

Nablus mayor Ghassan Shakaa promised to repair the site to its pre-1967 state, and repairs were carried out; however, workers painted the exterior of the shrine’s dome green (the color of Islam), fueling speculation that the Palestinians intended to build a mosque on the site. After some world outcry, the dome was repainted a neutral colour.

Since 2000, Israelis are no longer allowed to visit the site, although some pilgrims are at times allowed to enter under armed escort. Despite the ban some Breslov hasidim still visit the site under the cover of darkness evading army and police checkpoints. There had been an incident where some of these pilgrims were attacked and wounded.[1] With this ban and the fears that Palestinian authorities are not sufficiently protecting Jewish and Christian religious sites the shrine has become the source of ongoing frustration and anger amongst Jews.

On February 23, 2003 the carved stone covering the grave was destroyed.

On May, 2007, the Breselov hasidim visited the site for the first time in two years. A gunman attacked his gathering, and Israeli gunmen returned fire.

In 2007, it was discovered that the tomb had been vandalised, and filled with burning garbage.

Destroying their own holy sites just because they are holy to others is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. But let’s open a dialogue with these guys. I’m sure we can come to some rational agreement.