The IDF is preparing for a complex and sensitive operation: Securing hundreds of Jewish during a visit to the gravesite of Rav Ashi, a Talmudic sage, next week.
The compound, which houses the tomb of Rabbi Ashi (352–427 CE), one of the "Amoraim" (sages who lived from 200 to 500 CE) and one of the compilers of the Babylonian Talmud, has been divided by the border since the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000; most of the compound is located beyond the Israel-Lebanon border.
Entry will be heavily secured and coordinated with security forces, i24NEWS reported.
Due to the sensitivity of the matter and the proximity ot the Lebanese border, the IDF's Northern Command is preparing for an operation of significant scale.
"The efforts will focus on ensuring the safety of the visitors and avoiding sparking tensions with Hezbollah or local forces in Lebanon," a security source familiar with the details said.
The plan will include large numbers of IDF forces positioned in the area and accompanying the visitors throughout their trip. The area will be temporarily blocked off, and limits will be placed on certain traffic.
"The planned visits to the gravesite reveal an unusual step and prove the widescale efforts which are being made in order to ensure traditions can be upheld, while protecting security in a tense region," the IDF noted.
The Northern Command stressed that the IDF will continue to follow developments in the area and adjust the alert level accordingly. Exact details of the visit have not yet been published.
Meanwhile, the IDF has already secured a visit by MK Avraham Bezalel (Shas) and a group of other visitors to the site.