The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) today called for greater protection of Jewish historic sites in Judea and Samaria after Palestinian Authority (PA) workers destroyed a portion of an ancient wall in order to make gravel for a new road.
According to Shomrim Al HaNetzach, an organization that works to protect antiquities in Judea and Samaria, the PA ground stone from an ancient wall at the site of Joshua’s Altar located on Mount Ebal in order to construct a road connecting an Arab village to the city of Shechem.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sent a letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz, in which he called on the IDF to “thoroughly investigate the case in order to ensure no further such damage is done to heritage sites.” In addition, Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina Party and a former defense minister, denounced the incident, noting the importance of preserving “our Jewish heritage.”
“The Palestinian Authority’s cavalier and callous attitude towards Jewish holy sites is contemptible, and the destruction of archaeological treasures cannot be allowed to continue,” said NCYI President Farley Weiss. “By damaging a biblical site while doing road work, the Palestinian Authority has made it abundantly clear that it is incapable of providing proper oversight of the area, and we therefore call on the Israeli government to take immediate steps to make certain that there is no further destruction. Preserving Jewish historical sites must be of paramount importance, and inaction in the face of an effort by the Palestinian Authority to systematically tear apart our history and heritage with impudence, brick by brick, is not an option. We echo the concerns voiced by President Rivlin and Naftali Bennett and urge the Israeli government to ensure that Israel, not the Palestinian Authority, has custody over Jewish archaeological sites.”