Local sources say it was “mostly quiet” in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon outside the Lion’s Gate entrance on Rehov Ma’ale Motta Gur, but a small disturbance rippled the silence of dozens who tried to pray near the sanctity of the Temple Mount.
It’s not clear how many of the dozens of Muslims who came to Israeli Police on Monday asking for permission to perform their Islamic afternoon prayers in the street, actually knew the story of the man for whom it was named. They were instructed by police simply not to block the street and to move to the sidewalks in order to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic — which in general, most of the worshipers did.
One teen, however, decided to be a “hero” and threw a bottle at Israeli Police forces who quickly and quietly detained him and took him to the nearly police precinct for questioning.
The street leading to the Lion’s Gate entrance to the Old City, Rehov Ma’ale Motta Gur, is named for the IDF Paratroopers’ Commander who led the forces in liberating Jerusalem on June 7, 1967. A stone plaque at the entrance indicates the street named in his memory.