Occupied Quds - Saba:
The Zionist newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Monday that the occupation army is considering re-imposing its control and permanent Jewish presence at Joseph's Tomb in the heart of the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, 25 years after its evacuation at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
The newspaper reported that the central command of the occupation army is preparing—for the first time since the Al-Aqsa Intifada—an official plan on the practical feasibility of this step, which is expected to be presented in the coming weeks.
The newspaper noted that this issue had been frozen due to the recent war with Iran, but it has recently returned to the forefront.
It reported that an expanded conference will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, in the Knesset, with the participation of ministers, MKs, public figures, and families of those killed. The conference aims to exert additional pressure at the political and military levels to advance the plan to return to Joseph's Tomb.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the subcommittee on West Bank affairs of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held its first meeting two weeks ago to discuss the security situation at Joseph's Tomb.
The meeting was attended by Settlement Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, MK Zvi Sukkot, who heads the committee, Deputy Head of the Civil Administration, Lt. Col. Lahat Shemesh, and representatives of the security establishment. A representative from the Central Command pledged to provide a detailed assessment within six weeks.
The newspaper said that restoring a permanent Jewish presence at Joseph's Tomb is a step with significant security and political implications, as it represents a change in the status quo that has existed for more than two decades. It remains unclear how the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian public, the United States, and European countries will react to such a move.
Settler leaders are seeking to expedite the implementation of the plan, fearing the possibility of the Knesset being dissolved and new elections being held, which could derail their project. They describe regaining control of the tomb as a sovereign and security responsibility.
Knesset Member Sukkot said, "The State of Israel cannot violate its agreements and neglect such an important site. Joseph's Tomb must return to permanent Israeli control as part of our responsibility in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)."
In the early days of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, the Israeli army was forced to evacuate the site of Joseph's Tomb, which housed a Jewish religious school under constant Israeli army guard. This was after massive demonstrations around the tomb, during which several Palestinian demonstrators were killed, an Israeli soldier was killed, and the demonstrators managed to set fire to the site.
A Palestinian security force is permanently stationed around Joseph's Tomb, evacuating the site when Israeli forces storm the city to protect settlers during their repeated incursions.
Since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Joseph's Tomb has become a regular destination for settlers performing Talmudic rituals. In 1986, the Israeli army established a Torah school there.
Over the past few years, the site of Joseph's Tomb has become a hotbed of death, with dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded by Israeli forces while attempting to confront settler incursions into Joseph's Tomb.
While the Jews claim that the shrine contains the tomb of the Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, the Palestinians assert that the shrine is an Islamic endowment, registered in the Ottoman archives, and that the tomb within it belongs to a righteous man from the Duweikat family in Balata al-Balad, and that the Jews have no involvement in it.