Mob sets fire to Jewish shrine as Hamas calls for a day of rage against Israel

Palestinians set fire to a Jewish shrine in the West Bank on Friday as the Islamist group Hamas called for a day of rage against Israel. About 100 people rushed the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph, which is in the Palestinian city of Nablus. They were pushed back by Palestinian security forces who arrived on site, but not before setting parts of it aflame. The incident is the latest sign that two weeks of unrest and tit-for-tat killings and knife attacks shows little sign of abating.

We view this incident with gravity and strongly condemn any attack on holy sites. We will find and arrest those who set the fire

Israeli military

The incident follows another round of verbal sparring after Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas wrongly claimed in a televised speech that Israelis had “summarily executed” a teenager. In fact, 13-year-old Ahmed Manasra was recovering at an Israeli hospital after he stabbed two Israelis. The month-long violence has claimed the lives of eight Israelis and 32 Palestinians. Security patrols have been stepped up while the Israeli government has eased gun licensing. The U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting to discuss the situation on Friday. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called for “rallies of anger and confrontations” on Friday in all West Bank cities.

I’ll tell you this, if the attacker … intends to stab me, I will also take out my knife.

Moshe Niddam, a 16-year-old Israeli

Middle East Israel