The Western Wall Police closed this morning - they banned the Passover holiday, a day full of worshippers and visitors - again the main entrance gate of the Western Wall plaza, intended for those coming from David Street - Jaffa Gate Market. The reason: the lack of security guards.
For about a month now, there has been a severe shortage of security guards at the Western Wall plaza for the Civil Intelligence company, which is responsible for security. Despite police activity with the company, the pool of security guards has not been increased. As a result, in the absence of security guards to check those entering the gates, entrance gates are closed from time to time.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation is outraged and demands an examination of the police's relationship with the Civil Intelligence company. "This situation cannot continue, even for one more day," they say.
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Over half a million people visited the Western Wall during the holiday, including Jews from Israel and the Diaspora. Led by rabbis, Torah scholars, and public figures who came to commemorate the pilgrimage. This was despite tensions in the face of dozens of young Muslims who barricaded themselves in the mosque on the Temple Mount, constantly seeking to disrupt the prayers of the multitudes of the House of Israel.
However, the Western Wall rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, warned political officials that the situation that existed during the holiday, when every day the Western Wall square looked like a war zone, facing tens of thousands of Jews who felt threatened by the rioters who had barricaded themselves in the mosque, could not continue.
""The sounds of explosives in the background, intended to scare away the rioters, marred the beautiful holiday atmosphere at the Western Wall and in Old Jerusalem. The violent activity of the rioters desecrates not only the holy places of Israel, but also the holy places of Islam," he said. "The police deserve praise for their efforts to allow the prayers, but moreover, it is impossible for a situation in which the holy places of the Jewish people become a battlefield to continue. The violent elements who desecrate the holy places must be removed in advance and the instigators arrested.".
