Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved plans to invest millions of shekels in a five-year project to expand the plaza next to the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites in Jerusalem's Old City.
The plans to improve access to the site were outlined in a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which said it would invest 85 million shekels (23 million dollars, 17 million euros) in the project.
"The aim of the plan is to improve access for millions of visitors to the site and also to the archaeological sites, and to upgrade the infrastructure and the transport infrastructure in the area," it said. The 2011-2015 plan follows on from a project first approved in 2004, the results of which led to a "huge growth" in the number of annual visitors to the Western Wall, rising from two million to eight million in 2009, the statement said.
The project will be directed by Netanyahu's office and carried out in conjunction with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and financed by a number of government offices.
"The Western Wall is the most important heritage side for the people of Israel, and we are committed to develop it and preserve it so it will continue being a focal point for visitors and an inspiration for millions of visitors, tourists, both old and young, from Israel and abroad," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in the statement.
In 1996, more than 80 people were killed in three days of riots during Netanyahu's first term of office when he authorised the opening of a new entrance to an archaeological tunnel near the holy sites.