The Cave of the Seventy Elders, located in the village of Awarta in Samaria, was desecrated Tuesday night by Arabs.
The incident, which includes Hamas graffiti and stone smashing, sparked an uproar among heritage organizations and activists for holy sites.
The vandals, who have yet to be identified, who entered the cave carried out vandalism with a clear nationalistic nature: The words "Hamas" and "Al-Quds" were sprayed on the walls of the cave, and stones inside the ancient cave were smashed and thrown around.
This is the second incident within six months, following severe damage that occurred at the same site last August.
In response to the incident, the Jews United (JU) organization urgently appealed to Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, demanding the establishment of a permanent protection mechanism for heritage sites in Samaria, with the goal of preventing similar incidents in the future. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News learned that the Minister's office is handling the matter together with the relevant authorities.
Holy sites activist Shaloma-Rivka Levine responded sharply: "This lawlessness is a wound in the heart of the nation. We can no longer rely on 'false calm' when our heritage sites are being erased. We demand sovereignty and governance now."