On the surface, it sounds like a reasonable question. Only when you know a little about what's going on do you realize that shooting rockets at civilians is in no way "self defense." It is terror.
We now have proof positive that Palestinians are not motivated by self defense but by Jew-hatred.
Palestinian armed groups announced on Tuesday afternoon that they intended to start a battle in Nablus last night.
The reason? To stop Jews from performing "Talmudic prayers" at Joseph's Tomb.
The IDF entered Nablus last night, not to arrest a wanted militant, or to frustrate a planned terror attack. Unlike most incursions, this one was known to all ahead of time. Because the terrorists knew that the Jewish pilgrims were visiting and they wanted to stop them from visiting, and that the IDF would be there to protect them.
The terrorists - part of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of the Fatah group headed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas - started shooting towards the worshipers. The IDF fired back.
One of the attackers was apparently killed when the homemade bomb he was holding exploded before he could throw it to the IDF, although the specific circumstances are unclear - the IDF admits to shooting towards him.
There was no pretense of "self defense." The entire reason to attack, freely admitted by the Palestinians themselves, was to stop Jewish prayer at a Jewish pilgrimage site.
It is pure hatred of Jews and denial of Jewish rights.
In fact, the terrorists complained that the Jewish pilgrims apparently didn't arrive on buses, as they usually do, but in armored vehicles - making it more difficult for them to kill Jews.
This isn't "self defense." This is hate for Jews.
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A few more points:
Under existing agreements, Jews should have the right to freely visit Joseph's Tomb anytime they want without fear of being fired upon. Clearly, the Palestinian Authority has not held up their end of the deal.'
Usually, Palestinians pretend that the site isn't really Joseph's tomb, but a tomb of a Muslim scholar coincidentally named Joseph (Yusuf) as well. But Iranian media, reporting this story, refers to the site as the tomb of The Prophet Joseph, meaning that they agree that this is a Jewish holy site.
Whether it is indeed the exact site of Joseph's real burial place is controversial, but there is no doubt that Jews have been visiting and praying at this site for hundreds of years, as this 1839 account attests - and local Muslims in the 19th century didn't dispute that this was Joseph's burial spot.
