Until 1948, Jewish burials in Jerusalem were conducted in the centuries-old Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. In January 1948, the Arab siege of Jerusalem made the Mount of Olives inaccessible, as the route to the cemetery passed through hostile Arab villages. A new burial ground was opened next to the Sanhedria neighborhood on the northern border on March 28, 1948. However, with the outbreak of war in May 1948, the Sanhedria Cemetery lay on the front line and funerals were plagued by sniper fire. Two temporary burial grounds in central Jerusalem – Sheikh Badr Cemetery, and Shaare Zedek Cemetery behind the first Shaare Zedek Hospital – were then opened.