Israel sparks settlement fears with Mount Erbal visit
Israel sparks settlement fears with Mount Erbal visit
West Bank source says Israeli politicians and settlement leaders visited mountain near Nablus in the West Bank, which an Israeli archaeologist says was the site of Joshua's altar.
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Israelis say they want to perform Talmudic rituals on Mount Ebal's slopes [AFP]
Israeli politicians and settlement leaders have visited Mount Ebal near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, reports say.
Mohammad Abu A'llan Daraghmah, a blogger and expert in Israeli affairs, said that Israeli officials visited Mount Ebal two days ago. Israel claims archaeologist Adam Zertal found Joshua's altar there 35 years ago. According to Jewish teachings, Joshua was the leader of the Israelite tribes after Moses' death.
Daraghmah said the Israeli visitors to the site included the minister of construction and housing, the general manager of the Israeli antiquities authority, MPs, and Gershon Mesika, the chairman of the council of West Bank settlements.
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Israel claims archaeologist Adam Zertal found Joshua bin Nun's altar there 35 years ago. |
According to Daraghmah, Israeli officials said the public needed special permits and four-wheel-drives to access the site. However, efforts are reportedly being made to facilitate access.
Daraghmah quoted an Israeli official as saying it was "illogical" for the site to ve closed to the public, and that every Israeli should have access to "such an important historical site".
Dirgham al-Fares, the Palestinian director of the northern provinces at the ministry of tourism and archeology, said Israel was creating a false narrative about Joshua to seize the land.
He said the archaelogical site dated back to the Bronze Age, 1,300 years before Christ, and was used by Canaanites.
"Once Israel controls the area around the altar, they will completely control Mount Ebal. It has nothing to do with religion, it's about politics," Fares said. "It is violating the 1907 Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention from 1954."
Hosni al-Samiri, a Samaritan priest, said: "The children of Israel's real synagogues are found on Mount Gerizim, which they called the 'mount of blessing'. They would never have built one on Mount Ebal because, according to the Torah, it is called the mount of 'curse'."
The Samaritans live and worship on Mount Gerizim, south of Nablus.
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
