Five people were arrested after they illegally visited Kever Yosef in PA-controlled Shechem on Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, 50 mispalalim were permitted at the holy site, escorted by IDF troops.

Kever Yosef officially remains in Israeli control as per the Oslo Agreement, and Israelis are to have free access to the holy site. In actuality however, one may not visit there without filing a prior request with the IDF and arranging for protection entering and leaving the PA autonomous city.

Since Israel abandoned Kever Yosef, as per the orders of then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the residents of the PA (Palestinian Authority) area have set the kever ablaze on several occasions and damage to the area has been very significant. For the most part, the governments of Israel have turned a blind eye to the destruction of the kever.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)