Jericho synagogue

[1] The synagogue, dating from the Byzantine period, was revealed in excavations conducted in 1936 by Dimitri Baramki of the Department of Antiquities under the British Mandate.

[2] The well-off Arab Jerusalemite, Husni Shahwan, who owned the land, built a house on top of the mosaic, careful to preserve it.

[4] The phrase "Peace on Israel" has been widely used on Jewish and sometimes Samaritan synagogue floors from the Byzantine and, in one known case, Early Muslim period.

[citation needed] In the months after the war, Moshe Dayan thanked Mohammed, the son of Husni Shahwan, for the way the family had managed to protect the synagogue remains, which counted among the better preserved in the country.

Such visits, coordinated between the local Palestinian authorities and the Israel Defense Forces, were initially allowed once every month, in order to conduct prayer services.

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