News
22 March 2018
Israel began to demine the place of Christ's Baptism on the banks of the Jordan
The Ministry of Defense of Israel announced the beginning of the demining of the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ on the banks of the Jordan River with the transfer of the defused areas to the believers.
Now, because of the mines left from the time of the conflict between Israel and neighboring Jordan, a large part of the shrine is fenced and closed to the access of pilgrims, who in thousands go to the area now known as Qasr al-Yahud. It is located in the lower reaches of the Jordan, near the place of its confluence into the Dead Sea, and is revered by Christians as the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, after whom the Holy Spirit descended in the waters of the Jordan.
The Ministry of Defense expects to find approximately three thousand dangerous objects, including anti-tank, anti-personnel mines and other explosive legacies of the war, "the Defense Ministry said.
The region of Qasr al-Yahud passed under Israeli control after the 1967 war and until 2011 was a "military zone", where pilgrims were allowed only on major Christian holidays.
"The demining of the place of baptism so important for so many is a unique and exciting opportunity." We are very proud of participating in the clean-up of these lands with their return to the religious custodians, "Marcel Aviv, the head of the Israeli National Mine Clearance Office, acting under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense .
RIA News
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