Attack on Biblical Patriarch's Tomb Thwarted

JERUSALEM, Israel -- A joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF netted a small but potentially lethal terror cell planning to attack Jewish worshippers at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus (biblical Shechem).

The tomb is the traditional place where the Bible says the children of Israel buried Joseph's bones, which they carried from Egypt (Joshua 24:32CloseJoshua 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver.* This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ).

Joseph's Tomb holds a special place in the hearts of many Israeli Jews as a place of pilgrimage. But it's location often makes treks to the site dangerous. Visitors are supposed to coordinate their pilgrimages with the IDF, but some insist on coming at their own risk.

Palestinian cell members planned to use explosives and automatic rifles to attack whoever was unfortunate enough to be at the site when they carried out the plan.

The Shin Bet identified the four members, all residents of P.A.-controlled cities in Samaria (West Bank), and their handler, Mohammed Darwish, a senior Islamic Jihad member who directed operations from the Gaza Strip.

Darwish was responsible for recruiting and arming the cell and directing the assault against Jews visiting the historical site.

Cell members included Nasim Damiri, 30, a previously jailed Fatah member, and his cousin Mohammed Damiri, 23, a Palestinian Authority police officer. The two cousins, both residents of Tulkarm, were the hands-on men who would carry it out.

The two others, Yasser Tzarawi, 25, a known Hamas member and resident of Nablus, and Adwan Nizel, 24, a known Islamic Jihad member from Jenin, would prepare a bomb and supply the Damiri cousins with their weapons.

During interrogation, the four detailed their individual assignments from scoping out the site to building a bomb, receiving weapons and arranging a place to stay before the attack.

Thanks to Israel's highly honed security personnel this attack was prevented.

In April 2011, Ben-Yosef Livnat, the 24-year-old nephew of then-Culture Minister Limor Livnat, was shot dead by a Palestinian policeman as he drove home from the site. An investigation into the incident concluded that while the shooting was not "premeditated," it was carried out with malicious intent.