Jerusalem: Israel is adding two key West Bank holy shrines to its list of national heritage sites, the Prime Minister said, staking a claim that angered Palestinians, who
want Israel out of the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing a session of his Cabinet at a heritage site in the Israeli Galilee, yesterday said the two sites were late additions to the list,
reflecting pressure from settlers and other nationalists to widen the heritage category to include Old Testament sites in the West Bank.
One of the sites, in the city of Hebron, has been a flash-point for decades. Jews call it the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the Bible says the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried along with three of their wives.
Muslims call it the al-Ibrahimi mosque, reflecting the fact that Abraham is considered the father of both Judaism and Islam.
Hebron is a focus of violence because it is the only place in the West Bank where Jews live among Palestinians. About 500 Israeli settlers live in enclaves near the disputed
holy site, guarded by Israeli soldiers who control part of the city where about 170,000 Palestinians live.
The other new heritage site is the traditional tomb of the biblical Rachel on the outskirts of Bethlehem, about 20 kilometres north of Hebron. Israel`s West Bank separation
barrier juts into Bethlehem to put the site under Israeli control.
Altogether, about 150 sites are on the heritage list.
PTI
