THE SHOMRON: MT. GERIZIM

From 090707 Mt Gerizim

There is a dynamic over-view of the Biblical City of Shechem from Mount Gerizim. And there is an evolution of Biblical facts in Torah and the Tenach leading up to the modern history of the city known today as Nablus.
When the Israelites had made their way out of Egypt and after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they finally crossed over into the promised Land. They immediately approached Shechem, which means 'shoulder', evident by the two mountains which shoulder the city on the north and the south. Shechem lies in the narrow valley between the two: Mt. Ebal and Mr. Gerizim.
Moshe commanded that the blessings of obedience to the law should be proclaimed from Mt. Gerizim, whereas its curses for disobedience would proceed from Mt. Ebal. (Deut. 11:29; 27:12-13)
The Israelites had carried Yosef's bones from Egypt when they left and buried him in the tract of land that Yaakov had bought. Yaakov set up an altar to God, the God of Israel, (El Elohei Israel) within sight of the city of Shechem.
Although much more can be found in scripture about Shechem, I want to bring the conflict about 'Kever Yosef' up to modern times.
a. Until 1903 the exact location of Shechem had been uncertain. So, it's really difficult how the Arabs can lay claim to the city during the years of the Jordanian occupation of the "territory of Palestine".
b. Israel gained control of Yosef's Tomb following the Six Day War in 1967.
c. In the mid-80s a Jewish yeshiva and a military outpost were built at the site.
d. In 1995, the area came under the jurisdiction of the PLO, thanks to the Oslo Accords.
e. 1996, the tomb was attacked and 6 IDF soldiers were killed in the riot.
f. 2000, seventeen Palestinians and one IDF soldier were killed in bloody fighting at the tomb. The IDF withdrew, the tomb was ransacked, the yeshiva demolished. The tomb's dome was painted green, the color of Islam, and the speculation was the Arabs intended to build a mosque on the site.
g. 2003, the carved stone covering on the grave was destroyed.
h. 2007, Breslav Hasidim return to the site for the first time in 2 years. The tomb had been vandalized and filled with burning garbage.
i. 2008, vandals set fire to tires inside the tomb. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared the tomb a Muslim holy site.
j. 2009, a group of Jewish worshippers who entered under the cover of dark, found the headstone smashed and swastikas painted on the walls. Impressions of boot prints were on the grave itself.
Daring, religious, bodacious Jews still endanger their lives as they stealthily enter Nablus, the city of volatile hatred, to visit Yosef's Tomb.
As far as the eye can see, hundreds if not thousands of illegal buildings are going up in the city in expectation for the 'return of the Palestinians'.