Right-wing activist Yair Ansbacher on Thursday hung signs on the Western Wall, reading, "Whoever is for G-d - follow me!" (a quote from Hanukkah's Maccabees - ed.), as well as a sign showing the symbols of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
According to Ansbacher, the signs were hung in an attempt to strengthen the Jewish nation's morale in light of the ceasefire-prisoner swap deal with Hamas, which will see just 33 hostages - living or dead - released in the initial stage, with the remaining 65 released later, if Hamas and Israel reach agreements on ending the war.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, expressed "painful protest against the desecration of the holiness and the Western Wall, against the unprecedented action which was done by a Jew who acted in contradiction to halakha (Jewish law) both on the way up to the Temple Mount and by climbing the holy stones, and in the signs which he placed on the Western Wall."
"These acts, like other acts which were done recently, are in contradiction to halakha and rulings by the Chief Rabbinate."
Attorney Shimshilashvili, who is representing Ansbacher, said: "This is an act [by someone] who aimed to raise the morale of the Jewish nation at this difficult time, and found himself detained at the police station. My client's pain is understandable, and he can be released at the scene after clarification."