Jesus’ baptism site was a closed military zone for 50 years. That’s about to change.

This dusty bank of the Jordan River has long been a place of new beginnings. In the Old Testament, it is written that Joshua crossed over here, leading his band of weary Israelites into the Promised Land. Later, in the Gospels, John is said to have used the same waters to baptize Jesus.

Now this lush oasis is to have its own rebirth, as Israel, with the help of international agencies, works to clear the remnants of war from the western flank of this historic river.

For nearly 50 years, this swath of land in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, approximately 250 acres, has been uninhabitable. Declared a closed military zone by the Israeli army, it is scattered with an estimated 5,000 antitank and antipersonnel mines, as well as complicated booby traps once aimed at preventing hostile infiltrations from neighboring Jordan. 

Monasteries and lands belonging to eight Christian denominations — including some buildings that are a century old — stand abandoned after their monks and priests fled fierce fighting and insurgencies that followed the 1967 Israeli-Arab war. 

The bullet-marked walls of crumbling churches, a few personal and religious artifacts and barren courtyards are the only testaments to what was once a spiritual life.

When Pope John Paul II held a private worship at the site in 2000 — flying in by helicopter — pressure mounted for Israel to reopen the area. Seven years ago, a narrow path was forged through the minefield providing access to Christian pilgrims. 

[Pope picks one of dueling baptism sites in visit to Holy Land]

Now, more than 6,000 people a year visit Qasr al-Yahud, which is managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and called Al-Maghtas in Arabic. Many who come undergo their own baptism and spiritual renewal, even as barbed wire and warning signs remind them of the dangers.

Courtesy : The Washington Post