Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Cave of the Patriarchs on Sunday with his wife, Sara, and several of his ministers. They took the opportunity to recite Psalms and to pray for the sake of the State of Israel.
Big day at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in #Hebron as Defense Minister @naftalibennett also visited. In K4 he complained that the #DealOfTheCentury has the term “Palestinian State” 159 times, and only 13 mentions of “Israeli sovereignty” in Judea and Samaria. pic.twitter.com/4ar2ygGeVR
— Yishai Fleisher ישי פליישר (@YishaiFleisher) February 23, 2020
Netanyahu was accompanied by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, and Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev. Led by Rabbi Hillel Horowitz, the head of the regional council of Hebron, the politicians recited Psalms 121, Psalms 130 (as seen in the video), and recited the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel.
Sara Netanyahu performed the Jewish custom of lighting candles at the tomb of her namesake, the Biblical matriarch Sarah.
במערת המכפלה, נחלת אבותינו. שלנו לעד pic.twitter.com/ssiw63OUrN
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) February 23, 2020
Hebron spokesman Noam Arnon took part in the ceremony which he saw as hugely significant.
“Four members of the government were in Hebron yesterday,” Arnon told Breaking Israel News. “I am seeing that every day, the nation of Israel understands more and more that our right to this land comes directly from our matriarchs and patriarchs that are buried here in Hebron.”
“It should be noted that Likud is not defined as a ‘religious party.’ They are for a strong Israel and identify as Jewish but their visit here, as their visits in the past, highlights that they understand the significance of the Machpela (Cave of the Patriarchs. This isn’t exclusively a religious message. This is a message of roots and nationhood.”