 In 1926 an effort was made to lease the Maghrebi waqf , which included the wall , with the plan of eventually buying it . Negotiations were begun in secret by the Jewish judge Gad <unk> , with financial backing from American millionaire Nathan Straus . The chairman of the Palestine Zionist Executive , Colonel F. H. Kisch , explained that the aim was " quietly to evacuate the Moroccan occupants of those houses which it would later be necessary to demolish " to create an open space with seats for aged worshippers to sit on . However , Straus withdrew when the price became excessive and the plan came to nothing . The Va 'ad Leumi , against the advice of the Palestine Zionist Executive , demanded that the British expropriate the wall and give it to the Jews , but the British refused . 
