Mughrabi Bridge
The Mughrabi Bridge (also Moroccan Bridge , Arabic جسر المغاربة, DMG ǧisr al-maġāriba ) called wooden bridge for pedestrians in the old city of Jerusalem leads from the square by the Western Wall up to the southwest corner of the Temple Mount .
history
Until 2004 an artificially raised earth ramp led from the square to the Mughrabi or Moroccan gate (Hebrew: Šaʿar Ha-Mughrabīm; Arabic: Bāb al-Maġāriba). This gave visitors direct access. The ramp was damaged as a result of a small earthquake and a snow storm. The area directly below the gate slipped. The wooden bridge was built around the remains of the ramp in 2007 as a temporary solution that was only to last for a few months until a permanent, permanent structure was to replace the earth ramp. For the construction of a more stable construction with concrete pillars, the remains of the earth ramp and the underlying material were archaeologically examined. Israel's actions have been criticized internationally. Arab states threatened war; UNESCO sent international inspectors to prevent Israel from changing the status quo in the "occupied territory" . Guardians of the Dome of the Rock even claimed that Israel had attempted to bring down the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque with the work . Because of these disputes, the temporary wooden bridge has been preserved to this day.
meaning
The Mughrabi Bridge creates the connection from the plaza by the Western Wall to the Temple Mount. It is usually open in the mornings from Sunday to Thursday. The bridge is used by tourists and Israeli security forces to get to the Temple Mount, while the remaining gates of the Temple Mount are for people of Muslim faith. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock as the central location is under the administration of a Palestinian-Jordanian Waqf . At the place where the Islamic Dome of the Rock stands today, the Jewish temple was located until 70 AD . King Herod enlarged the temple area by filling up part of the rock plateau and walling the entire area. Part of the western wall forms today's Western Wall , which is a religious site of high rank in Judaism.
Conflict over the bridge in 2011
On December 12, 2011, there was a dispute over the bridge. Israel closed the bridge on the grounds that it was dilapidated and not adequately protected against fire; further use would endanger human lives. Israel again planned to replace the bridge with a sturdy stone structure. The Jordanian minister of religion said that Israel was not authorized to make structural changes to the Temple Mount.
Nonetheless, it was argued from conservative circles in Israel that constant access to the Temple Mount was necessary; after all, religious Jews must be enabled to get to the place where the greatest shrine in Judaism once stood.
In protest against the criticism of Israel on the part of Jordan, national religious Israelis broke into the restricted military area near Jordan on the night of December 12, 2011 and occupied an abandoned church there.
After a fire engine was stationed next to the bridge, it was reopened three days later.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ To Stephen Smuts
- ↑ Jerusalem Center for public affairs ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ israel hayom
- ↑ center for Israel & jewish affairs ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ JTA ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Information from n-tv
- ↑ Article on tagesschau.de ( Memento from January 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Information from n-tv
- ↑ Article on tagesschau.de ( Memento from January 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Melanie Lidman, in The Jerusalem Post : Mugrabi Bridge opens after temporary closure , accessed December 15, 2011.
Coordinates: 31 ° 46 ′ 35 ″ N , 35 ° 14 ′ 3.5 ″ E