The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will convene on Sunday to discuss the issue of the renovation of the Cave of the Patriarchs to make the holy site accessible to the disabled.
Despite the approval of the Defense Ministry and the granting of a budget to carry out the renovations by Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel, to date no work has been carried out. Subcommittee Chairman MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home) will lead the committee discussion, which will examine how to solve this problem.
One problem the committee seeks to address is the dozens of stairs leading to the building designated for prayer. Those unable to climb the stairs are stuck at the entrance gate and cannot pray at the site of the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
In addition, during the rainy season, the residents of Hevron, who host hundreds of thousands of Jews every year to visit the holy site, are afraid of flooding in the central prayer chapel of the site. To address their concerns, MK Yogev is demanding that a roof be constructed to keep the rain out.