Mughrabi Gate Bridge may be closed soon

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: The Mugrahbi (Mugrabi) Gate Bridge may be closed soon:

Mughrabi Gate bridge
Photo by: Marc Israel Sellem
J'lem again vows to demolish temporary Mughrabi Gate bridge
By MELANIE LIDMAN (Jerusalem Post)
10/26/2011 02:16

Structure leading to the Temple Mount is dangerous, says the Jerusalem city engineer.

For the second time in six months, Jerusalem’s city engineer has threatened to destroy the temporary bridge connecting the Western Wall Plaza to the Temple Mount in an effort to force the Western Wall Heritage Fund to replace the aging structure.

City Engineer Shlomo Eshkol said the bridge, used by non-Muslims, was in danger of collapse and gave the Western Wall Heritage Fund 30 days to work on a replacement plan.

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Eshkol made similar threats in May, when he said the Fund had two weeks to remove the bridge or the city would destroy it. The Fund said that the decision depended on the Prime Minister’s Office, and since then no plans were made to demolish the bridge.

The covered ramp has been used since 2004, when a small earthquake and winter storm caused part of the original bridge to collapse. The Mughrabi Bridge is the main entry point for non-Muslim tourists to access the Temple Mount from the Western Wall plaza, as well as for security forces entering the area in times of unrest.

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Complex disputes may close Mughrabi Bridge walkway giving Jews access to Temple Mount
posted by Rob Kerby, Senior Editor | 4:51pm Tuesday October 25, 2011 (Beliefnet)

Jewish access to their most holy site, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, may be cut off after the city’s engineer, Shlomo Eshkol, ruled the temporary Mughrabi Bridge has become unsafe — and the Muslim fraternity that oversees the sensitive area forbade any repairs.

The covered ramp leads from the base of the Mount at the Western Wall — the “Wailing Wall” — and provides non-Muslims with access to the area where Solomon’s Temple stood. A temporary structure, the walkway was built in 2004 after an earthquake destroyed a stone ramp built by soldiers at the end of the 1967 Six-Day War that gave Israel control of the holy area.

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The Mughrabi Bridge must be built

By NADAV SHRAGAI
10/25/2011 22:28 (Jerusalem Post)

It is time to put an end to this sad affair, which has been blown beyond all proportion. The temporary bridge leading to the Temple Mount must be replaced with a permanent one.

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Needless to say, there has never been any basis to the venomous claim that Israel is endangering the Temple Mount mosques or seeks to cause their collapse. Radical elements such as Raed Salah have utilized the events at the Mughrabi Ascent to increase their own status, to incite against Israel and to attempt to destabilize Israeli sovereignty in a unified Jerusalem.

It is time to put an end to the Mughrabi Gate affair, which has been blown beyond all proportion, and to speedily replace the temporary bridge with a permanent one. There is no need for stealth or covert action. It should be done openly and with full transparency, just as Israel has acted so far, while displaying consideration and sensitivity for the ties of various Islamic and Arab bodies to the site.

However, a clear line should be drawn, one that distinguishes between consideration, sensitivity and respect, and the conduct befitting a sovereign nation that is obligated to manage crises, but also to reach decisions and execute them, even in the highly sensitive area of the Temple Mount.

Background here with endless links. The story of the ramp collapse that led to the building of the temporary bridge was noted here and here back in 2004.