Chairman Danny Dayan of the Yesha Council, representing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, said Sunday evening that the decision of security officials to reduce the number of buses entering Joseph's Tomb Sunday evening was a serious mistake. He said that he even pleaded with military leaders to increase the number of people entering the holy site in the Palestinian Authority-assigned city of Shechem.
Dayan said, nevertheless, that it was strictly forbidden for anyone to enter Shechem against the instructions of the security forces, agreeing with the military that such efforts could endanger the permitted worshippers as well as security forces. He added, "We will continue to act to remove the entry limits at the Tomb of Joseph and to return the place to complete Israeli control."