Temple Mount Bridge To Be Dismantled

Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that a new foot bridge providing access to the Temple Mount for non-Muslims be dismantled. From the Jerusalem Post:

The Prime Minister’s Office ordered the dismantling of a foot bridge under construction from the Western Wall Plaza to the Temple Mount to supplement the  Mughrabi Bridge, government officials confirmed Wednesday.
The officials said that the move came at the request of the Jordanian government. According to the officials, the PMO has ultimate jurisdiction – because of the sensitivity of the area – for the site.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made it clear at a press conference on August 6 that he had no intention of altering the status quo on the Temple Mount, a highly sensitive issue in Jordan and throughout the Muslim world.
“I want to make sure that everyone understands that Israel respects and will continue to respect the status quo on the Temple Mount,” he said. “We know that there are arrangements there, including the traditional role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and we are not about to change it.”
One government official said that the new footbridge to the Mughrabi Gate was a private initiative taken “without any coordination with the PMO, or permission.”  He said that the Jordanians made it clear that any change in the area created problems for them and asked that it be dismantled.

The article continues here. According to the Times of Israel, dismantling work began yesterday.

Access to the Temple Mount will apparently continue to be allowed via the temporary wooden bridge erected in 2004.