24-Apr-11: Palestinian Arabs, possibly PA police, fire on Israelis en route to prayers; one killed, others wounded

We're in the midst of the Passover religious festival which for most Israelis is a week-long vacation. Early this morning (Sunday), 15 Israeli men, driving to the frequently-desecrated Tomb of Joseph on the outskirts of Nablus [see this nineteenth century picture and this account of its travails] came under fire. 

A 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem is dead. He is Ben-Yosef Livnat, the son of Noam Livnat, nephew of Israel's Minister of Culture & Sport Limor Livnat. 

At least five other members of the group suffered serious to moderate injuries and have been air-lifted to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The group, comprising of Breslov Hassisim, was reportedly traveling in a three-car convoy. 

Ynet says that while driving back from prayers, around 6 am, they came under fire from a Palestinian jeep. The fire continued even after the vehicles began to escape. Ynet quotes the PA Governor of Nablus, Jibril al-Bakri, saying the shooting was unintentional, calling it a "security incident" and not a "shooting attack", the implication evidently being the Israelis were shot by the PA police.

The Tomb of Joseph the Patriarch is one of the holiest of Judaism's
religious sites. The picture above is from before the destruction carried
out by Palestinian Arab thugs in October 2000. 

Arab mob pillages the ancient site at the start of
the Arafat War proclaimed by the Palestinian Authority in September 2000

Palestinian flag and thugs 'honor' the destroyed religious site.

In what is left of Joseph's Tomb, religious visitors pray recently under IDF protection

UPDATE Sunday 11:30am: Over at the JoshuaPundit blog, they reported earlier this morning about renewed desecration of the Joseph's Tomb site: "the headstone smashed and swastikas sprayed on the walls, graffiti of a blood-dripping sword over a Star of David, and visible boot prints all over the tomb itself."


UPDATE Sunday 12:30pm: Yes, it was the Palestinian Authority police. And they used live lethal fire (Haaretz quoting the Defence Minister) in opening up on three Israeli vehicles filled with unarmed religious pilgrims visiting the sacred site of Joseph the Patriarch. Haaretz adds: "Following years of closure, Jewish worshippers are now able to enter Nablus often with a military escort to pray at the small building traditionally identified as the tomb of the biblical Joseph, located inside a Palestinian-ruled area. Those visits are coordinated with Palestinian security forces."

Ben-Yosef Livnat, murdered this morning

UPDATE Sunday 5:00pm: The man who was shot to death by the Palestinian police while en route to the Tomb of Joseph was laid to rest this afternoon in the ancient Jewish cemetery on the slopes of Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. Thousands of people were present, expressing their horror at the barbarity of the Palestinian Arab shooting of worshippers on their way to one of Judaism's most ancient and meaningful sites, and solidarity with the victims. Ben-Yosef Livnat (his picture is above) was 25 and the father of four very young children. The Wall Street Journal quotes Defence Minister Ehud Barak calling this an act of murder and that "no coordination mishap can justify such an incident." 


The Palestinian Arabs evidently do not see any coordination mishap in today's events. Palestinian Authority security services spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told the Palestinian Arab newsagency Ma'an that 

"officers on duty at the site had been summoned to give testimonies as witnesses to the incident, but none had been detained. Dmeiri said a committee had been formed to investigate the shooting but said it would not include Israeli officials. He denied media reports that the investigation would be under US supervision." 

Pretty clear which issues bother them and which do not. Oh, and the Ma'an editors also tell us, as confirmed by other news sources this afternoon, that after the killing "Palestinians set fire to the site." Yet again.