PALIS RENOVATING JOSEPH'S TOMB

Joseph's Tomb being renovated (JTA)
The Palestinians are renovating Joseph's Tomb.

Palestinian Authority cleaners and repairmen went to work this week on the shrine on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus. The site was vandalized extensively during the outbreak of violence in late 2000.

Revered as the final resting place of the biblical patriarch, the site had long housed a yeshiva and small Israeli border police garrison, but its occupants fled deadly Palestinian assaults. The Palestinians then converted the tomb to a mosque.

Since his break with Hamas Islamists in June, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been trying to show he can impose security and stability, with Nablus as a proving ground. Hundreds of P.A. police have deployed in the city in recent weeks, confronting local militias.

Security sources said the Palestinians consider their renovation of Joseph's Tomb another "goodwill gesture" toward Israel, and that talks are under way about establishing a regular pilgrimage route for Jews who want to pray at the shrine.

SEE ALSO: The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case - Nadav Shragai
Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been badly disappointed by agreements transferring responsibility for Jewish holy places to neighboring Arab or Palestinian rule. On September 28, 1995, the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement was signed on the White House lawn, making the Palestinians responsible for civilian and security matters in additional areas of the West Bank. The holy sites in those regions, or adjacent regions (access to which passed through or close to Palestinian areas), were designated as "sites of religious significance" or "archaeological sites." The agreement also dealt with the status of 23 places holy to Jews, including the tombs of biblical figures.

With the outbreak of the second intifada in the fall of 2000, Joseph's Tomb in Nablus was attacked, set ablaze and desecrated. The "Shalom al Israel" synagogue in Jericho was attacked. Holy books and relics were burned, and the synagogue's ancient mosaic was damaged. Bullets were fired at Rachel's Tomb as soon as the riots began. Palestinian Authority security forces, who were responsible for keeping order, not only failed to prevent the violence, they actively participated in it. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the battles. Unfortunately, there has been a discernable deterioration in Palestinian treatment of Jewish holy sites in 2007, including the Tomb of Joshua bin Nun at Kefel Hares.

Israel's experience since the Oslo agreements has shown that the responsibility for Jewish holy sites or the roads leading to them should remain in Israeli hands. (Institute for Contemporary Affairs/Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)