Netanyahu to lift ban, allow MPs to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to lift a year and a half ban on Knesset (parliament) members visiting the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupeid old city of al-Quds ('Jerusalem'), which was the scene of intense confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians last month.

A member of Netanyahu’s office told AFP on condition of anonymity that Netanyahu “decided to open the Temple Mount to MPs’ visits, for one day at this stage, on Tuesday, August 29,” following consultations with security officials.

He claimed “the decision was taken in light of the improvement in the security situation at the site.”

In 2015, Netanyahu barred Israeli members of parliament from visiting the site in the Old City of Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

The order was meant to calm unrest that erupted in part over Palestinian fears that Israel was planning to assert further control over the mosque complex.

However, Yehuda Glick, an American-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi from Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court in March against the ban.