Hamdallah becomes first Palestinian PM to visit Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM - Agence France-Presse

Labourers use a hydraulic drill as they work on foundations of a new complex (L) that will include a synagogue, a reception hall and a police station in the Western Wall plaza (facing) of Jerusalem's Old City with the Dome of the Rock mosque and Al Aqsa mosque compound in the background seen on May 20, 2013. AFP photo

New Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah visited Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday, in a first for a serving Palestinian premier, the official WAFA news agency reported.
 
Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, is built on the site of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.
 
"Jerusalem is a symbol of the Palestinian question," Hamdallah told the agency. "Our visit today shows how important Jerusalem is to the Palestinian government." WAFA said Hamdallah also met the mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, and visited Al-Maqased hospital in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem.
 
The new Palestinian government headed by Hamdallah was sworn in on June 6 in Ramallah in the West Bank.