Israel to let MPs visit flashpoint Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to ease a ban on lawmakers visiting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site rocked by violence last month, his office said Thursday, reports AFP.

An official told AFP on condition of anonymity that members of parliament would be allowed to visit the site known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and Jews as the Temple Mount in a one-day trial next week. "In consultation with security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to open the Temple Mount to MPs' visits, for one day at this stage, on Tuesday, August 29," the member of his office said.

"The decision was taken in light of the improvement in the security situation at the site," he said. "Decisions on the issue will continue to be made in accordance with assessments of the security situation."

Netanyahu instructed police in October 2015 to bar lawmakers from visiting the site in the Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque complex and the Dome of the Rock.

Israel to let MPs visit flashpoint Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to ease a ban on lawmakers visiting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site rocked by violence last month, his office said Thursday, reports AFP. An official told AFP on condition of anonymity that members of parliament would be allowed to visit the site known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and Jews as the Temple Mount in a one-day trial next week. In consultation with security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to open the Temple Mount to MPs visits, for one day at this stage, on Tuesday, August 29, the member of his office said. The decision was taken in light of the improvement in the security situation at the site, he said. Decisions on the issue will continue to be made in accordance with assessments of the security situation. Netanyahu instructed police in October 2015 to bar lawmakers from visiting the site in the Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque complex and the Dome of the Rock.