Yossi Dagan with IDF officers at the tomb
Yossi Dagan with IDF officers at the tombSamarian Regional Council

Hundreds of Jews both secular and religious converged on the tomb of the biblical Joshua in Sunday evening in Samaria.

Kifl Hares, which has been identified as the site of the Biblical town of Timnath Hares, is near the Israeli city of Ariel in central Samaria, and is located in part in Area B, under Palestinian Authority civil administration. The remainder of the village is in Area C, under full Israeli control.

Accompanied by IDF soldiers, participants prayed and sang at the historical Jewish site. The Ephraim Territorial Brigade and the Samaria Regional Council decided to hold the entrance as a series despite the murderous shooting attack in the Barkan industrial zone earlier on Sunday that left two people dead.

"On this difficult day, we chose to go to the grave of the first commander of the Jewish people in the village of Kifl Haris in Samaria, and not to cancel the event," said Yossi Dagan, who heads the Samaria Regional Council.

"This is the place to salute the commanders and soldiers of the IDF who, with great courage, lead just like the first commander of the Jewish people, Yehoshua Ben Nun, to protect the people of Israel and to protect the good spirit that is blowing from this people," Dagan said.

Dagan also thanked the IDF for securing the worshipper's visit. The IDF arranges special visits to Joshua's Tomb every four months and works in close cooperation with the local Jewish communities in order to arrange their safety..