A group of Palestinians have broken in and destroyed the Tomb of Joseph in Israel.
According to the The Times of Israel, a riot arose between the soldiers of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin area which led to the desecration of the shrine on Saturday night.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav shared that about a hundred Palestinian rioters broke into the site. They have already broken the grave's tombstone and set fire to rooms in the compound before the Palestinian security forces were able to disperse them.
The IDF's special forces searched the area for weapons and arrested eight suspects.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett criticized the incident during his cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"We will not abide such an assault on a place that is holy to us - on the eve of Passover - and we will get to the rioters. And of course we will make sure to rebuild what they destroyed, as we always do," Bennett said.
In a statement, Defense Minister Benny Gantz also condemned the action.
"The vandalism of Joseph's Tomb is a grave event and a serious violation of freedom of worship in one of the holiest places for every Jew. It violates the feelings of the entire Jewish nation, especially when it occurs during the Muslim holy month," Gantz stated.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid echoed the sentiments of Bennett and Gantz. He said that the devastation is not just a "serious damage" to the tomb itself but also "to the deeply-held feelings of the Jewish people," adding that they will certainly bring the perpetrators to justice.
On Monday, the site was attacked again. In a video taken at daytime which circulated online, the Palestinians were seen throwing rocks inside the shrine.
"There is no Joseph's Tomb anymore, you traitors," a man was heard speaking in Arabic, referencing the Palestinian Authority (PA) following its promise to restore the site after it was destroyed on Saturday.
The tomb is located at a place controlled by PA and Israelis are required to seek authorization before entering the area.
On Monday, when two Israelis tried to get to the tomb through an unmanned checkpoint, they were shot.
Yossi Dagan, the head of Samaria Regional Council, denounced the shooting.
"The responsibility lies solely with the terrorists of the Palestinian Authority and no less so with the people who continue to obsessively market this group of terrorists," he said.
Dagan reminded the Israelis, however, that they must coordinate with the IDF before entering the site.
The shrine is sacred to the Jews because it houses the bones of Jacob's son, Joseph, who became second in command in Egypt.
Though Joseph died in the foreign land at the age of 110, he asked the Israelites to carry his bones with them when the LORD would already bring them to the land He promised. When God finally took them out of Egypt after more than 400 years of sojourn, they did carry Joseph's bones and buried them at a piece of land that Jacob bought in Shechem, a city which is known today as Nablus.
