The "The Forum for the Struggle for Every Dunam" visited the Biblical Altar of Joshua on Mt. Ebal and found that over the past few days, the altar has been vandalized by residents of nearby villages in the Palestinian Authority, who burned tires at the site and spray painted Arabic graffiti and a Palestinian Authority flag on the altar.

Following the vandalism, the forum announced that they would hold a dawn prayer service at the site of the altar to increase Jewish presence there, in memory of Captain (res.) Harel Sharvit, of blessed memory, who was killed in action in Gaza and was one of the most active individuals in establishing the Jewish presence there.

"The grave incident that took place this week is a direct result of the lack of Jewish presence on this hill. Ever since the Civil Administration decided to completely demolish the Jewish farm on the mountain three years ago, we have seen a string of incidents of vandalism of the altar, a massive takeover by the Palestinian Authority, and several irreversible actions taken in the area," the Forum stated.

"Today, it is clearer than ever that only the fixed Jewish presence of a farm or town will guarantee there is really control over the site, and prevent further damage or destruction of the altar. The right-wing government that has spoken out so fiercely in the past against damage to the site must order the establishment of a new community on the hill no later than today. Otherwise, any damage or take over by Arabs will become an eternal blot on its record."

"Over the past 2 years, Joshua's Altar has suffered significant attempts to damage it from Arabs in the area, and some of them even succeeded in doing irreversible damage to the walls of the site," the Forum concluded.

Approximately a year ago, the Forum revealed a Palestinian Authority plan to build a residential neighborhood on the site of the altar itself, which would bring about the destruction of archaeological findings and prevent Jewish access to the historical site.