Defense Minister Benny Gantz Announces Intention to Expedite Construction of Lift at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron
Today the Minister of Defence and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz announced that he is working to expedite the construction of a lift for disabled visitors at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. To the best of our knowledge this follows pressure by the settlers who claimed the Civil Administration was delaying the process.
Yesterday was the deadline for submitting objections to the plan. Two objections were submitted – one by Emek Shaveh and one by the Municipality of Hebron. Gantz’s announcement demonstrates that he has adopted the positions of previous defense ministers in the past decade who have been supportive of the settlements in the West Bank.
We claim that the lift plan is more political than humanitarian and marks a breach of the status quo in Hebron creating additional friction between Jews and Muslims in a place which is already suffering from extreme tensions.