Temple Mount. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Reuters – In a rare step Israel said on Wednesday it would let 500 Palestinians living in Gaza pray at a Jerusalem holy site during the Eid al-Adha feast at the weekend, and allow Palestinians from the West Bank to enter Israel more freely for the holiday.

The measures seen as Israel’s most sweeping easing of restrictions on Palestinian movement since 2007 were announced as Washington issued statements condemning Israeli settlement expansion plans in Jerusalem, after President Barack Obama’s White House talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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