Al-Aqsa takes center stage in unrest
AL-QUDS — Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, is at the heart of diplomatic efforts to defuse more than three weeks of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
Here is a series of questions and answers to describe the role of the flashpoint site in the latest unrest:
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a 14-hectare (35-acre) rectangular esplanade at the southeast corner of occupied Jerusalem’s Old City. To Muslims, it is known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary).
The compound in its current form was built in the seventh century by Islam’s second caliph, Omar. It is situated in east Jerusalem, a majority Palestinian area that was seized by Israel during on 1967 and later annexed in a move never internationally recognized.
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.
A controversial visit 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 and left some 4,700 dead.
Palestinian anger was already simmering over Israeli occupation, the internationally condemned expansion of settlements, the Gaza blockade and 2014 conflict and loss of hope for a political solution.
Further stoking anger was the death of a Palestinian toddler and his parents when suspected Jewish extremists firebombed his house.
In September Al-Aqsa Mosque compound became the focal point of this anger when an increase in Jewish visitors led Palestinians to fear Israel was plotting a change in the so-called status quo.
Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but are forbidden from praying there for fear of sparking tensions with Muslim worshippers.
But ultra-nationalist Jews, some of whom want to begin building a Third Temple, regularly visit the site where they can be seen praying discreetly.
Israeli police monitor visitors entering through the Mughrabi Gate, the only entrance for non-Muslims, but in the last year several have entered the mosque during protests, enraging Muslims.
Since Israel annexed east Jerusalem the site has been managed by the Jordanian-run Waqf but Israel currently controls access. Muslims are often subject to restrictions on entry, such as age limits.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fiercely dismisses this charge as “lies.” “We remain committed to the status quo. We’re the ones that protect all the holy sites,” he said Thursday.
He moved to defuse tensions at the site, banning ministers and lawmakers from visiting. However the status quo that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants is that of 1967, when Israel did not control who visited the site. — AFP
