Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock
IDF eases West Bank, Gaza restrictions for Ramadan
Access to Temple Mount to be expanded on Fridays; Palestinians to be allowed increased freedom of movement through Ben Gurion Airport.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza will have more than a few reasons to celebrate the upcoming month of Ramadan, including the easing of certain restrictions by Israeli authorities during the holiday, that will allow some Palestinians to travel in and out of the Middle East through Ben Gurion International Airport.
The special allowances for Ramadan mean that Palestinians living abroad may come to visit family in the West Bank and Gaza while some 500 special passes are being giving for locals to be with family living in foreign nations.
The Al-Aqsa mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The temporary freedoms have been refused to Palestinians for years, but were approved recently by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon with the support of IDF Chief Gadi Eizenkot.
In addition to the relative freedom of movement through Ben Gurion Airport, worshipers will have access to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount via direct bus routes from Ramallah and Bethlehem. Officials are also considering allowing a group of Gazans to set out on a Haj to Mecca through the Allenby border crossing.
Dozens of Palestinian journalists from the West Bank will also be allowed into Israel to cover Ramadan events.
Officials however, stressed that any change in the security situation would trigger a severe response directed at Hamas.
