The Mughrabi Bridge is a wooden

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

connecting the

Western Wall Plaza The Western Wall Plaza is a large public square situated adjacent to the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was formed in 1967 as a result of the razing of the Moroccan Quarter neighborhood at the very end of t ...

with the

Mughrabi Gate The Temple Mount, located in Jerusalem, has twelve gates, one of which, Bab as-Sarai, is now closed to the public but was open during Ottoman rule. There are also six other sealed gates. This does not include the Gates of the Old City of Jerus ...

of the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

History

Until 2004 an earthen ramp allowed non-Muslim visitors direct access to the

through the

. An 800-year-old wall holding back part of the hill jutting out from the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

leading up to the Mughrabi Gate partially collapsed. Authorities believed a recent earthquake may have been responsible. During the winter of that year heavy snowfall (by Israeli standards) caused the ramp to collapse. In 2007, the current wooden bridge was built, originally intended as a temporary measure that would stand for several months until a more permanent bridge was constructed. In order to build a permanent bridge, the remains of the old ramp and the earth under it had to be excavated, which resulted in accusations by the

Waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

that Israel was trying to destabilise the

and collapse the Dome of the Rock from the location of the rampwhich in turn resulted in international criticism, violent protests and calls for a third

Intifada An intifada ( ar, انتفاضة ') is a rebellion or uprising, or a resistance movement. It is a key concept in contemporary Arabic usage referring to a legitimate uprising against oppression.Ute Meinel ''Die Intifada im Ölscheichtum Bahrain: ...

. Several of the neighbouring Arab states argued that the work threatened their internal stability, while other states threatened war. As a result, the bridge was still standing at the end of 2011, when the city engineer of Jerusalem issued an order to close the structure because it was not safe. In 2012 and 2013, the support scaffolding of the bridge was replaced with a large metal beam structure and the area under the bridge was again open for visitors to walk around, resulting in a 1.5–2× increase in size of the Western Wall's women's prayer area (but not greater than the original area prior to construction).

2014 addition

In August 2014, construction was started on a second bridge to the Mughrabi Gate. The second bridge would be a supplement to the 2007 Mughrabi Bridge. This secondary bridge became controversial, and at the wishes of the Jordanian government, work was halted and what had been built was torn down.

Significance

The Mughrabi gate is the only gate to the Temple Mount that the

allows non-Muslims to use for visiting the Temple Mount complex. The bridge is the only way to reach the gate. The bridge and excavation of the historic ramp leading up to the gate have been a point of contention contributing to the hostility of the

Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

References

{{Temple Mount Temple Mount Wooden bridges he:שער המוגרבים#גשר המוגרבים ומעלה המוגרבים

History

2014 addition

Significance

See also

References