As worshippers braved the rains and visited the site of the Western Wall on Monday morning, a man burst onto the scene with yells and curses. He railed against Israel’s “occupation,” and then spray-painted the word “Palestine” on the stone wall separating the men’s prayer section from the visitors’ section, and on the barrier adjoining the women’s prayer section.
The man was described by onlookers as being “odd,” News-1 reported. He was arrested by police stationed at the holy site.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, ordered the graffiti to be cleaned immediately. He expressed sorrow over what he called “the desecration.”