The fallen boulder
The fallen boulderHillel Meir/ TPS

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz called for 'introspection' after a disaster was narrowly averted on Monday when a heavy boulder crashed into the Kotel's egalitarian plaza.

The incident is relatively rare, as the Western Wall's heavy stones have not fallen in over two decades, something the rabbi said he "views as crazy".

"The fact that such a powerful event took place after the fast on Tisha B'Av, in which we mourned the destruction of the houses of our temples, raises questions and questions which the human psyche is too small to understand and requires introspection," said Rabbi Rabinowitz.

"I thank the Almighty for preventing a major disaster. The professional bodies (the Israel Antiquities Authority, the police and the Jerusalem municipality) will investigate the incident, " he added.

Jews all over the world had marked the fast of Tisha B'Av on Sunday, which commemorates the destruction of the two Holy Temples and the Jewish commonwealths by the Babylonian and Roman empires.

Video footage had shown the stone crashing into the egalitarian prayer plaza, also known as the "Ezrat Yisrael." It hit the prayer platform a few meters from a woman who happened to be visiting.

The Ezrat Yisrael will continue operating as usual, but the platform where the stone fell will be temporarily closed.