At its weekly meeting Sunday, the Israel Cabinet approved a new five-year plan to upgrade infrastructures and encourage visits to the Western Wall.
The plan was presented by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; its budgetary framework will be allocated by the Prime Minister's Office as well as the Defense, Finance, Education, Interior, Transportation, Tourism, Public Security, Culture and Sports, Aliyah and Integration, and Innovation, Science and Technology ministries.
As a holy site for the Jewish people and as among the most prominent historical and archaeological sites in the world, the Western Wall is visited by millions of visitors and tourists from around the world. Between 2015-2020, the number of visitors to the Western Wall grew from 10 million to 12 million.
The Prime Minister's Office will monitor implementation of the new plan.
The goals of the plan are:
• Continuing the momentum of development and work being carried out at the site
• Meeting the needs of visits by school pupils, new immigrants and soldiers
• Developing new educational plans
• Advancing and upgrading transportation infrastructures and services
• Formulating new ways to make the Western Wall accessible via new technological platforms
"The Western Wall is one of the Jewish people's holiest and most important sites,” Bennett said at the meeting. “Millions of visitors from around the world visit it on an ongoing basis. The five-year plan that the government has just approved will continue upgrading urgent infrastructures at the site and assist in encouraging masses of additional visitors. I thank government ministers and ministries for their cooperation. Quietly and effectively, day after day, our government is working for the citizens of Israel."