A stone fell on Sunday from the Makhkameh wall onto the prayer plaza at the Western Wall, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation reported on Monday. There were no injuries as a result of the incident. Engineers from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation confirmed there is no danger to the safety of worshippers in the Western Wall Plaza.
The Makhkameh is a structure built approximately 700 years ago by the Mamluks and served for centuries as a courthouse and administrative center. Today, the site houses a Border Police base that overlooks the prayer plaza at the Western Wall, located above “Wilson's Arch” – the covered prayer hall in the Western Wall Plaza.
Following the stone’s fall, an unusual event at the Western Wall, the area where it fell has been cordoned off. The incident is being investigated and addressed by the staff of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the Israel Antiquities Authority, who are conducting an assessment at the site.
A preliminary investigation found that water penetration from the roof of the Makhkameh created pressure on the stones and the mortar between them, leading to the stone dislocating.
The Foundation’s engineers clarified that they were working to seal the roof of the Makhkameh, replace the mortar, and conduct a thorough inspection of the stones in the structure.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation regularly conducts professional inspections of the stones of the Western Wall. The last inspection was conducted before the recent Passover holiday and found everything to be in order.
These inspections are carried out twice a year by engineers and the Israel Antiquities Authority to check the stability and strength of the stones. A crane, manned by engineers and professionals, is positioned before the High Holidays and Passover, from which they examine the condition of the stones.
Last week, a massive stone weighing approximately 400 kilograms (nearly 900 pounds) which fell from the wall six years ago was relocated to its new position near the Wall. The stone now rests alongside other fallen stones in the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden at the Davidson Center.
In 2018, shortly after the evening prayer for the solemn fast day of Tisha B'Av, the stone came loose and fell from a height of several yards onto the platform of the egalitarian Ezrat Yisrael section near the Western Wall plaza. A woman praying on the platform narrowly avoided injury when the stone landed nearby.