TEHRAN The Muslim and Christian scholars in Palestine said that the tomb of Prophet Yussef (AS), known in the Bible as Patriarch Joseph, is in Egypt, not Nablus.
They said what is believed in Nablus to be the tomb of Joseph is actually an endowed religious site.
The Mufti of Bait-ul-Moqaddas, Sheikh Akrameh Sabri, told the daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday that except for the tomb of Prophet Mohammad (S) in Medina and the tomb of Prophet Abraham (AS) in Al-Khalil, there is no historical evidence to prove that the tombs named after other prophets are their actual burial places.
Sabri added the Zionist occupation of the endowed Islamic sites is a violation of the rights of Palestinian Muslims, and that the Jews have no right to hold their religious ceremonies in such places.
Prior to the recent evacuation of its forces from Nablus, the Zionist Army had used the tomb as an storeroom for weapons, and this indicates that the Zionists have no respect for religious sites.
Abdulfattah Siam, a Palestinian scholar, said the Joseph tomb used to be the residence of a pious man living during the Ottoman era who cured the sick by reading some verses from the holy Qoran.
He added that the Ottoman king Sultan Abdulhamid appointed his grandfather as the caretaker of the tomb some 120 years ago.
He said his family have still kept the letter of appointment.