Two Israeli lawmakers visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lifted a nearly three year ban on members of Knesset entering the holy site.
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) and Likud MK Sharren Haskel visited the hilltop compound, which houses Al-Aqsa mosque. The site, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, has been venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims as a holy site for thousands of years.
Netanyahu prohibited Israeli lawmakers from visiting the site in November 2015 as a measure to ease tensions with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu's office had no comment about the lawmakers' visits.
"We hope and pray that Tisha B'Av will be a day of rejoicing, as the prophet said, and that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt," Ariel said, referring to the upcoming Tisha B'Av fast when Jews lament the destruction of the first and second Temples.
In place of the ban, new regulations were introduced, stipulating that ministers and MKs must coordinate their visits with, and obtain prior approval from the National Security Bureau at the Prime Minister's Office. The number of times they will be permitted to visit the site will be restricted.
