The Tomb of the Patriarchs, closed to Jewish and Muslim worshippers since the Hebron massacre in February, is expected to re-open by the end of October, Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur said last week.
Gur made the prediction during a visit to the West Bank town of Hebron, where he visited the tomb, focus of repeated unrest since the February massacre.
In the months since Dr. Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Palestinians praying at the Tomb, Israel beefed up security at the site, including the installation of closed-circuit television cameras to monitor visitors.
Israel’s security plans also call for the separation of Jewish and Muslim worshipers, who will be confined to separate parts of the complex and will be required to pray at the site at different times.
Gur told settlers from Hebron and nearby Kiryat Arba that he hopes the final security arrangements will be completed shortly, at which time Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin will formally announce the re-opening.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
