News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Jerusalem planning officials have proposed a new bridge to the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate at the Temple Mount, but the Arab world still is expected to oppose it. The former proposal was scuttled after Arabs accused Israel of using excavations as an excuse to weaken foundations of the Al Aqsa mosque in order to cause its collapse. Archeologists also feared that the excavations would damage antiquities.

The new plan calls for a shorter bridge along the existing route, which would require less excavating and fewer pillars. The bridge is used by visitors and also by police.