Five Israelis, among them a woman and her two little daughters, were detained by IDF soldiers over the Purim holiday for violating the military order forbidding Israelis from entering the Palestinian Authority. The five attempted to reach Joseph's Tomb in Shechem, which was all but abandoned by the IDF at the onset of the Oslo War. MK Uri Ariel's request to hold a public Book of Esther reading there on Purim went unanswered.