 In 1919 Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann , anxious to enable Jews to access their sacred site unmolested , approached the British Military Governor of Jerusalem , Colonel Sir Ronald Storrs , and offered between £ 75 @,@ 000 and £ 100 @,@ 000 ( approx . £ 5m in modern terms ) to purchase the area at the foot of the Wall and rehouse the occupants . Storrs was enthusiastic about the idea because he hoped some of the money would be used to improve Muslim education . Although they appeared promising at first , negotiations broke down after strong Muslim opposition . Storrs wrote two decades later : 
