Urgent construction work must be carried out on Mughrabi Bridge, which connects the Western Wall to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, Likud MK Miri Regev said in a proposal she submitted to the Knesset on Sunday.
The Mughrabi Bridge is a wooden structure originally built as a temporary crossing after the earthen ramp, which had previously allowed access to the Temple Mount for non-Muslim visitors, collapsed in 2004.The bridge was constructed in 2007 and was intended to remain in place for several months until a more permanent solution was built. Due to claims from the Wakf Islamic religious trust, instituted by Jordan after the War of Independence, that Israel was trying to destabilize the Temple Mount, a more permanent solution was never found, and the wooden bridge remained in place.
In 2011, the Jerusalem city engineer issued an order to close the bridge due to safety concerns, but it has remained open for public use.
Earlier this year, experts from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation warned that the bridge’s wood was extremely dry and cracked, attempts to treat it had failed, and replacing it was the only option.
Regev appealed for urgent action to be taken to replace the bridge before it collapses, even though a stronger support structure was installed underneath it in 2013.
“It is forbidden to wait another moment with the demolition of the bridge and the construction of an appropriate replacement,” she said. “The writing is on the wall, and the blood [of the victims] will be on the hands of all those who [did not act] and remained silent.”
The bridge poses a safety hazard for those who use it and for those who pray at the designated women’s section of the Western Wall because it passes over their heads, Regev said.
During Tisha Be’av next week and the upcoming High Holy Days many people will visit the Western Wall and use the bridge, increasing the potential danger, she said.
“In light of the tragic disasters at Mount Meron and Givat Ze’ev, we must not wait another moment to dismantle that bridge,” Regev wrote. “We must take responsibility for human life and discuss the danger that will arise if that bridge collapses. In the next two months... Tisha Be’av, the mass slihot [penitential] prayer events and other Israeli holidays all stand to endanger hundreds of thousands of people.”
Forty-five people died in the Mount Meron tragedy, and three people were killed and more than 180 were injured when bleachers collapsed in a Givat Ze’ev synagogue in May. Both incidents happened after safety warnings were not acted upon.
Warning the Knesset about the cost of ignoring safety warnings, Regev said: “How do we prevent the next disaster from happening? Why does the removal of this dangerous bridge continue to be delayed? Will this safety hazard be removed before we pay for it with human lives?”