Swastikas spray-painted on Joseph's Tomb

NABLUS, West Bank, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Israeli authorities say they found swastikas spray-painted on the walls of Joseph's Tomb and painted over them before Jewish worshipers arrived for Yom Kippur.

An Israeli Defense Force patrol of Joseph's Tomb discovered the graffiti Thursday morning at the holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus, Haaretz reported.

Soon after authorities covered the swastikas with white paint, worshipers arrived at Joseph's Tomb to pray before the Yom Kippur fast, which begins Friday.

Local leaders were condemning the act of vandalism.

Head of the Yesha Council of Settlements, Danny Dayan said that the "desecration of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, during the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, is a horrific act, that cannot be ignored."

The head of the Samaria regional council, Gershon Mesika said, "only barbarians would be able to commit such terrible acts. People who can pathologically desecrate such a holy site are not worthy of being called human beings."