Palestinians shout in front of Israeli security forces who block a road leading to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on September 13, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Jerusalem:
The flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, where Muslims clashed with Israeli police on Sunday, is a highly sensitive site sacred in both Islam and Judaism.
The 14-hectare (35-acre) rectangular esplanade at the southeast corner of the Old City was seized by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War, along with the rest of Arab east Jerusalem, and later annexed in a move never internationally recognised.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their future state.
Known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound houses the famous golden Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa mosque.
Believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his night journey to heaven, it is the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia.
The compound in its current form was built in the seventh century by Islam's second caliph, Omar, on the site of the Second Jewish Temple that was destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD.
The esplanade is also revered as the holiest site in Judaism because it housed both the First and Second Temples. In Hebrew, it is referred to as Har HaBayit -- the Temple Mount.
Long history of clashes
Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but are forbidden from praying there for fear of sparking tensions with Muslim worshippers.
Most, however, do not enter the area as Israel's chief rabbinate says that visiting it is forbidden under Jewish law due to issues of ritual impurity.
Today, the holiest site at which Jews can pray is the Western Wall -- the last remnant of the Second Temple.
But ultra-nationalist Jews, some of whom want to begin building the Third Temple, regularly visit the esplanade where they can be seen praying discreetly.
This frequently creates tensions with the Muslim worshippers who fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the compound now administered by Jordan in coordination with the Palestinians.
Israeli police monitor visitors entering through the Mughrabi Gate, the only entrance for non-Muslims, but in the last year have several times set foot inside the mosque following tensions, further vexing Muslim worshippers.
Clashes at the holy site are not new.
In 1929, deadly riots broke out during the British mandate, with Muslims rallying to defend the site.
In 1996, an Israeli decision to open a new entrance to the west of the plaza sparked clashes that left more than 80 people dead in three days.
And a controversial visit to the plaza in September 2000 by then rightwing opposition leader Ariel Sharon was one of the main triggers for the second Palestinian intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005.
The 14-hectare (35-acre) rectangular esplanade at the southeast corner of the Old City was seized by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War, along with the rest of Arab east Jerusalem, and later annexed in a move never internationally recognised.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their future state.
Known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound houses the famous golden Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa mosque.
Believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his night journey to heaven, it is the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia.
The compound in its current form was built in the seventh century by Islam's second caliph, Omar, on the site of the Second Jewish Temple that was destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD.
The esplanade is also revered as the holiest site in Judaism because it housed both the First and Second Temples. In Hebrew, it is referred to as Har HaBayit -- the Temple Mount.
Long history of clashes
Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but are forbidden from praying there for fear of sparking tensions with Muslim worshippers.
Most, however, do not enter the area as Israel's chief rabbinate says that visiting it is forbidden under Jewish law due to issues of ritual impurity.
Today, the holiest site at which Jews can pray is the Western Wall -- the last remnant of the Second Temple.
But ultra-nationalist Jews, some of whom want to begin building the Third Temple, regularly visit the esplanade where they can be seen praying discreetly.
This frequently creates tensions with the Muslim worshippers who fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the compound now administered by Jordan in coordination with the Palestinians.
Israeli police monitor visitors entering through the Mughrabi Gate, the only entrance for non-Muslims, but in the last year have several times set foot inside the mosque following tensions, further vexing Muslim worshippers.
Clashes at the holy site are not new.
In 1929, deadly riots broke out during the British mandate, with Muslims rallying to defend the site.
In 1996, an Israeli decision to open a new entrance to the west of the plaza sparked clashes that left more than 80 people dead in three days.
And a controversial visit to the plaza in September 2000 by then rightwing opposition leader Ariel Sharon was one of the main triggers for the second Palestinian intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005.
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