JERUSALEM (RNS)Joseph’s Tomb, the traditional burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, has again been vandalized, according to Israeli authorities.

A group of 500 Jews who arrived Wednesday (April 22) at the ancient domed tomb, which is located in the Palestinian-ruled city of Nablus in the West Bank, discovered boot marks and swastikas at the site.

“We saw a drawing of a Star of David with a boot stamping on it on one wall,” David Ha’ivri, one of the worshippers, told The Jerusalem Post.

“Putting your foot on something is the ultimate insult in the Arab world,” added Ha’ivri. “It is sad that is the way they treat a holy site. But nobody was particularly surprised.”

The tomb has long been a lethal flash point between Israelis and Palestinians. Although it is legally under Israeli jurisdiction, it has been difficult to patrol due to its location inside the Palestinian city. Several Israeli soldiers have been killed while defending the site.

In a statement Thursday, the New York-based Orthodox Union decried the desecrations.

“We … call upon all people of good will, especially those in positions of responsibility in the American, Israeli and other governments who, in their sincere desire to pursue a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, consider plans which would have Israel relinquish sovereignty over other Jewish holy sites — most notably in Jerusalem — to view this as not the first, but another warning that this is what happens when such holy sites are not secured by Israel,” the OU said.

Vandalism against Jewish holy sites in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been going on for decades, the organization asserted.

“We saw such desecrations when Jerusalem itself was under Arab rule in

1948-1967; we saw synagogues in Gaza destroyed after Israel withdrew in

2005; and we see again Joseph’s Tomb vandalized today,” the OU said.