Some 2,000 Jewish worshipers entered the tomb of Joseph the Righteous in Shechem early Thursday morning, with the approval of the IDF and its security, Hakol Hayehudi reported.
Joseph’s Tomb is located in Area B, according to the Oslo accords, where the PA is the municipal sovereign while the IDF is in charge of security. In the past, group of Jews who visited the holy site without IDF permission were arrested.
But this time Jewish entry was approved, in honor of Joseph’s yahrzeit—except that the yahrzeit fell on Sunday, Tammuz 1, and the IDF requested that the celebration be delayed until well past the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, so as not to upset the Arabs with the presence of so many Jews.
As it turned out, the respectful delay didn’t help at all, and throughout the night dozens of Arabs threw stones at IDF soldiers who guarded the entrance to the holy site, and the Jews inside. They also threw Molotov cocktails. So this respect thing remains one-sided.
Incidentally, on Sunday morning, some 20 Breslover Chassidim were arrested and beaten by Palestinian Authority police when they attempted to enter Joseph’s Tomb, according to the legal aid society Honenu. The physically abused men were then turned over to the IDF and Israeli police.
So, in conclusion, that part of how a future Palestinian State would take care of everyone’s religious rights, it still needs some work.
Also, if 2,000 Jews demanded entry into the Temple Mount one day, who knows, they might get to daven Shachris there, unmolested.