Mine clearing at site where Jesus was baptized commences

West Bank (dpa), 30 March 2018 -  After more than two years of wrangling with the various parties in control of the area where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, a British charity has finally started the arduous task of clearing away mines, mortars and booby-trapped churches left there from conflict.  

Light brown water gently flows as pilgrims from around the world submerge themselves in a small patch of the Jordan River where Jesus is believed to have been baptized.  

However, the West Bank holy site - known as Qasr al-Yahud and visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year - is only partly accessible, due to the fact that the surrounding territory is littered with mines, mortars and booby-trapped churches.   Last week, after more than two years of wrangling with Israelis, Palestinians and eight different Christian denominations, the British mine-clearing charity Halo Trust began the arduous process of rendering the area free of explosives.