TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH:

New plan for Temple Mount bridge aims to silence critics
By Jonathan Lis (Haaretz)

Jerusalem's Planning and Construction Committee will begin discussing an alternative to the controversial Mughrabi Bridge project tomorrow.

The original plan for the bridge, which leads from the Old City's Dung Gate and the Western Wall to the Temple Mount's Mughrabi Gate, raised hackles in the Arab world when it was presented in February, due to allegations that it would damage the Temple Mount. Some archaeologists and architects also expressed concern that the bridge would damage antiquities or block the view of the Temple Mount.
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The bridge will consist of a wooden walkway bordered by metal, with two-meter-high iron railings, as required by the police. The number of pylons supporting it will be reduced from seven to four. The height of the pylons will not exceed half a meter, and they will be placed on platforms in spaces excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority during its salvage dig, allowing the antiquities to be restored and protected. The planners mapped the archaeological finds along the bridge's path and found spaces in which the pylons could be placed without damaging the antiquities.

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UPDATE (27 July): More here.