My Right Word: More on Mughrabi Gate

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

More on Mughrabi Gate

Following up on this news item on the Waqf's negative position, and Nadav Shragai's report, and don't forget this from 2007, we have this op-ed by Shlomo Cesana:

If you build it, they will come

...The Mughrabi is the only gate up to the Temple Mount from the Western Wall Plaza that, according to the set status quo, provides access to non-Muslims. Until 2004, the walkway rested on a dirt and stone rampart. During that winter, however, the earthen ramp collapsed. A temporary wooden bridge was erected and plans were made for a permanent bridge, the construction of which was delayed due to Palestinian outcry wrongfully claiming that with this bridge, Israel was trying to change the status quo for the Temple Mount Plaza.

...Since 1967, and especially in the last decade, the Palestinians have appropriated the Temple Mount and expanded their fight to include symbols in the area of the Western Wall as well. In essence, the Mughrabi Gate is the only passageway through which Israel can exercise its sovereign right to this area, so holy to the Jewish people.

Procrastination and indecision on the establishment of a new bridge may be interpreted by some in Israel as weakness, and lead precisely to the clashes that the government hopes to avoid.