Jerusalem's Old City
Jerusalem's Old CityFlash 90

Senior archaeologists appealed to Israel's Supreme Court against the planned Western Wall cable car, claiming that the current temporary government is not qualified to approve its construction, Haaretz reported.

In addition, the appeal claims that the planning committees approved the cable car's construction without seeing realistic simulations of how the cable car will look against the backdrop of the Jerusalem's Old City.

The appeal was submitted by the Emek Shaveh organization and senior archaeologists, including Israel Prize winners Professors Amihai Mazar and Amnon Ben-Tor, as well as former Israel Antiquities Authority Chairman Professor Binyamin Ze'ev Kedar and other academics.

The cable car, approved by the Knesset's Housing Committee earlier this month, aims to provide a solution to the problem of accessibility to the southeastern basin of the Old City (the Western Wall Plaza, the Dung Gate, the City of David). It will cater to travelers, residents and tourists.

Israel's government approved the first stage of the project in 2017, granting it a budget of NIS 15 million ($4.21 million) from the Ministry of Tourism. Later, the government approved the additional investment from the 2018-20 budget.