Following the Six-Day War, a decision was made to erect a large prayer plaza adjacent to the Western Wall, which is considered the holiest site for the Jewish people (aside from the Temple Mount, which Jewish law prevents them from entering). To that end the Mughrabi neighborhood was demolished, which was constructed in the 12th century after Saladin conquered Jerusalem.
In recent years, The Western Wall Heritage Foundation succeeded in obtaining approval for the establishment of a visitor center called Beit HaLiba, which is currently being constructed along the western edge of the plaza. The visitor center will be built on a multi-tiered archaeological site containing remains dating back to the 7th century BCE through the 20th century.
Its establishment gave rise to much opposition on behalf of residents and ultra-Orthodox organizations who claimed that the structure would shrink the Western Wall plaza and obstruct praying. The archaeological community sounded criticism against the construction of the structure on top of archaeological remains that would be displayed in the basement. Fearing damage to antiquities, archaeologists claimed that the Roman street revealed within the framework of salvage excavations conducted prior to the establishment of the visitor center, must remain within an open area, as it was in ancient times.
The Western Wall plaza and Beit HaLiba are designed to emphasize the Jewish story, obscuring the site’s rich and multi-layered history.