Israel eases Palestinian entry restrictions to Al-Aqsa ahead of Ramadan
With the Muslim month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover week holiday overlapping this year, the issue of visits to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound gets more complicated than usual.
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced on Monday an easement of restrictions for Palestinians wishing to enter Jerusalem and pray at Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif during the month of Ramadan.
The step is routine from Israel, but the current decision comes also on the backdrop of two US-initiated meetings, first in Aqaba, Jordan, and then in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, for calming increasingly growing tensions in the West Bank and in Jerusalem during the holiday month.
