180 Libyans Due for Israel Tour
JERUSALEM — In an unprecedented show of cooperation between Israel and one of its most ardent foes, 180 Libyans plan to tour the Jewish state.
The Muslim tourists are scheduled to arrive today for a five-day tour of Jerusalem, Akko and two towns in the occupied West Bank, officials said.
The visit was arranged after Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi said in April that his nation would welcome visits from Libyan Jews he expelled in 1970.
Kadafi’s motivation was unclear. But Libya has suffered under sanctions imposed by the United Nations for its refusal to surrender two suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Scotland.
Today marks the first day of the three-day Id al-Adha, the most important holiday on the Muslim calendar.
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