In his April 25, 2011 column in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, published the day after the shooting outside Joseph's Tomb in Nablus in which Ben Yosef Livnat, nephew of Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat, was killed, Osama Al-Fara considered whether Livnat, who together with friends had entered the site without permission or coordination, had been shot by a Palestinian police officer or by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) troops positioned nearby. Either way, he said, the Palestinian police officer had done his duty. He also noted that that the Palestinians had lost patience with the Israeli settlers' provocations, which he claimed were being protected by the IDF and were part of Israel's general policy of settlement expansion, and added that the Palestinians were entitled to defend themselves in all possible ways.
The following are excerpts from his column:
"Joseph's Tomb, whether it is [the tomb of] an honest man named Joseph, or, as it says in the Torah, [the tomb of] our master Joseph the righteous, has been a point of contention, and this contention has greatly escalated in recent years. The settlers, with their repeated visits to the tomb, have not ceased provoking [us] in every manner, under a framework of lawbreaking whose characteristics are compatible with a barbarism unparalleled in history.
"The village of Burin near [the tomb] has become a daily eyewitness [to this]. The settlers have profoundly increased their provocations in the past few years, and apparently were mistaken in their understanding of the Palestinians' patience. They wreaked havoc in the land, making the trees and rocks, which are private property, their targets [for target practice]. Not a day goes by without the manifestation of one of the various shades of their barbarism and lawbreaking against the sons of our people. This usually takes place under the protection of the occupation army, or at least before its eyes and within its earshot – while the army does not lift a finger, as if it is the one giving [the settlers] a green light.
"Naturally, all this is part of the Israeli philosophy of sowing division among the Palestinian population centers, by expanding the settlements in their midst. [These] settlements drive anyone moving about the [West] Bank out of his mind – and drive home to him that this is [part of] the Israel's most aggressive policy toward us.
"The incident at the Joseph's Tomb compound, which resulted in the killing of one settler and the wounding of others, is part of the expected reaction to the series of lawbreaking [acts], at which the herds of settlers are experts. The story [here] concerns a Palestinian police officer who fired in the air towards a vehicle that approached the compound of Joseph's Tomb to break the law, and when [its driver] refused to obey [the policeman's orders], he opened fire on it.
"Even if the Israeli military position nearby began shooting, and whether the man killed was hit by the Palestinian police officer or by friendly fire, we must stress that the Palestinian police officer was doing his job, in accordance with its basic rules – because his missions there dictate to him to do nothing less than what he did – and his actions are worthy of the honor and esteem of all.
"So that there are no attempts to smear him, and us, with charges of terrorism and incitement, it must be noted that this officer's conduct is identical to that of any police officer in the most democratic capitals in the world, and those which most honor human rights – where it is part of the main mission of a police officer.
"The occupation government has in the past asked the [Palestinian] Authority to renovate Joseph's Tomb [following] the damages [it incurred] during the events of 2000... Even if we need no endorsement from the occupation government [to confirm] our responsibility for the site, [this request] is tantamount to such an endorsement. Therefore, no one, whoever he may be – particularly the nephew of the Israeli minister – is entitled to come to the compound of [Joseph's] Tomb and create the uproar [that the settlers] customarily spread by sowing horror and fear there.
"Perhaps this Joseph's Tomb incident will bring us to face a fact: The occupation government must be the first to know that our patience with the lawbreaking by the herds of settlers has run out. If the occupation army cannot stop their arrogance, their lawbreaking, and their spreading of fear and horror amongst the Palestinian children, we have the right to oppose this in a way that is in accordance with our capabilities and by means that will defend the sons of our people against [the settlers'] barbarism.
"This time, the occupation government should not expect condemnation of the incident [by us]. We will not throw [the Palestinian police officer] into a pit [as Joseph's brothers did to him]. If they don't want a recurrence of this incident, they must put an end to the hooliganism of their herds [of settlers], and remove their sheep pens [i.e. the settlements] from our midst."
