During a prayer held this week at the Western Wall plaza, organized by the Liba Center and attended by hundreds of worshippers, an altercation developed over the removal of worshippers from the women's section and the detention of one of them by the Israel Police.
According to the Liba Center, the police cleared worshippers from a specific area of the plaza in favor of a group calling itself Women of the Wall, which, they claim, conducts a ceremony there that does not conform with Jewish law and the procedures of the Chief Rabbinate. One worshipper, who asked to continue praying in her place, was arrested by officers.
Liba Center CEO Erez Asher called the arrest incomprehensible and indefensible. "Since when do the police prevent worshippers from praying in a particular part of the plaza and reserve an area for a specific group? What is the offense that that worshipper committed?"
The Israel Police told Arutz Sheva- Israel National News that during the incident referenced in the complaint, the woman repeatedly disturbed the peace and did not comply with the officers' instructions. It was further stated that after repeated warnings, the woman was detained for investigation. At the end of the investigation, the woman was released under restrictive conditions.