Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he had decided to reopen the site with increased security measures but promised to "maintain the status-quo."

Israel seized East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel subsequently annexed East Jerusalem, claiming it part of its "eternal and indivisible" capital, in a move never recognized internationally.

The compound site is holy to both Muslims, who revered it as the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews, who know it as the Temple Mount. Jews revere the site as the place of their historic temples, the last of which was ruined by the Romans in 70 AD.

Due to the special sensitivity, the Muslim Waqf is responsible for the administration of the site. Israeli Jews are allowed to visit the site but not to pray there.

In recent months, far-right Israeli lawmakers renewed their calls to change the long-held status quo and to lift the restrictions on Jewish prays, escalating the tensions in and around the compound.

【国际英语资讯:Muslim protest continues as Israel reopens Jerusalems al-Aqsa compound】相关文章：

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