TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH - The latest on the Mughrabi Gate excavation:

Minister Majadele cedes role in Mughrabi Gate project to cabinet
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

The cabinet Sunday set up a ministerial committee to oversee the Temple Mount's Mughrabi Gate project, thereby effectively depriving Culture Minister Ghaleb Majadele, who previously had ministerial responsibility for the work, of this job.

The decision follows Majadele's tour of the area a few days ago during which he reportedly ordered archaeological excavations at the site to stop.

However, both Majadele and the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is carrying out the dig, deny that he gave such an order. The authority said that the work, which is a necessary step to replacing a collapsed ramp leading to the Mughrabi Gate from the Western Wall plaza, was halted due to planning problems and not the minister's orders.

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