The IDF is easing up on travel restrictions for Palestinians during Ramadan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – As a goodwill gesture, Israel is easing travel restrictions for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza during the upcoming month-long Ramadan holiday, the Israel Defense Forces announced.

According to IDF spokesman Major-General Yoav Mordechai, Palestinian women as well as men over the age of 40 from the West Bank will be able to bus directly to the Temple Mount during Friday prayers. West Bank Palestinians will also be allowed to enter Israel to visit family, with an initial quota at 100,000.

Additionally, a limited number of Palestinians will be allowed to fly out of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport during the holiday. Normally, Palestinians must travel through Amman, Jordan.

“These are very significant measures taken based on [positive] assessments by the IDF Central Command, COGAT and the Shin Bet,” Mordechai said, the Times of Israel reported. “They are conditioned on security calm.”

Despite Gaza being controlled by the terror group Hamas, Israel will allow a limited number of Palestinians from the coastal enclave to visit family members in the West Bank and to attend Friday prayers at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The IDF may also allow Gazans to make pilgrimages to Mecca via Israel and Jordan.

“For the first time in many years, Gazans will be able to celebrate with their family members in the West Bank,” Mordechai said.