Mughrabi-Bridge
The Mughrabi Bridge (Arabic جسر المغاربة, DMG ǧisr al - maġāriba ) called wooden bridge for pedestrians in Jerusalem leads up at the Western Wall to the south-west corner of the Temple Mount from the square.
History
Until 2004, an artificially raised earth ramp from the square to the Mughrabi Gate and Moroccans ( Hebrew: Ša ʿ ar ha- Mughrabīm; Arabic: Bab al- Maġāriba ). This allowed the visitors direct access. As a result of a small earthquake and a snow storm the ramp had been damaged. The area directly below the gate from sliding. The wooden bridge was built in 2007 over the remains of the ramp around as a temporary structure that should have only a few months in hand, until a firm, final design should replace the earth ramp. For the construction of a more stable structure with concrete columns, the remains of the earth ramp and the underlying material have been investigated archaeologically. The Israeli action was criticized internationally. Arab states threatened with war; UNESCO sent international inspectors to prevent Israel from continuing to change the status quo in the " occupied territory ". Guardian of the Dome of the Rock even alleged that Israel had tried with the work to bring the nearby Al -Aqsa Mosque to collapse. Because of these disputes, the temporary wooden bridge was longer than expected to receive.
Importance
The Mughrabi Bridge creates the connection from the place at the Western Wall to the Temple Mount. It is generally open from Sunday to Thursday morning. The bridge is used by tourists and Israeli security forces, to go to the Temple Mount, while the remaining gates of the Temple Mount are designed for people of the Muslim faith. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock in the center is under Palestinian / Jordanian control. At the point, is the Islamic Dome of the Rock on the today, was up to the year 70 AD the Jewish temple. King Herod enlarged the temple area by heap up a part of the rock plateaus and everything was Wall. A portion of the west wall is the present day Western Wall, which is a religious place of high rank in Judaism.
Conflict over the bridge 2011
On December 12, 2011, there came to a dispute over the bridge. Israel had the bridge closed on the grounds that it was dilapidated and not adequately protected against fire; upon further use are human lives at risk. Israel planned again to replace the bridge against a sturdy construction made of stone. The Jordanian Minister of Religion expressed that Israel is not empowered to make structural changes to the Temple Mount.
Nevertheless, it has been argued from conservative circles in Israel that a permanent access is necessary to the Temple Mount; Finally, religious Jews should be allowed to get to the point where the largest sanctuary of Judaism had once stood.
In protest against the criticism of Israel on the part of Jordan's 2011 national-religious Israelis were on the night of December 12 spilled into the military exclusion zone to Jordan, where they had an abandoned church occupied.
After a fire company was stationed next to the bridge, it was opened three days afterwards.