Explained:: Why Jerusalem¡¯s Al-Aqsa Mosque Is At The Heart Israel And Palestine Conflict

Tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have again escalated in recent days after Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex as worshippers assembled for early morning prayers.

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces have arrested over 300 Palestinians and seriously injured at least 170 others since April 15 when they initiated raids into the Al-Aqsa Mosque site in disputed East Jerusalem. Al-Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located on a 14-hectare (35-acre) site. Israeli police claimed they entered the site to allow visits to the sacred site by far-right Jews.

This place in Jerusalem's Old City has become a hotbed of conflict between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and extremist parties for years, and is at the centre of rival historical claims.

What is al-Aqsa Mosque complex?

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One of Jerusalem's most well-known landmarks is the al-Aqsa Mosque. The location is part of Jerusalem's Old City, which is holy to Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls have been designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The compound of mosques is the foundation of the dispute between Israel and Palestine (Judaism & Islam). The Temple Complex is the sacred place in Judaism, while the Al-Aqsa Mosque is among Islam's most treasured locations.

Why is Al-Aqsa sacred for Jews?

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In Judaism, the Temple Complex is the holiest location. The Dome of the Rock to the northern side and the Al-Aqsa Mosque towards the south are located on the Temple Mount, which is a walled complex within Jerusalem's Old City. Its Western Wall, a relic of the Second Temple and the sacred site in Judaism, is located southwest of the Temple Complex.

Two biblical temples, according to Jews, were originally situated there. The first temple was demolished by Babylonians in 587 BC, and the second was torn down by Romans in 70 CE, according to the Bible. The Western Wall, also known as the Buraq Wall by Muslims, presently stands on the site. The wall is regarded by Jews as a continuation of the Holy Site.

They believe the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the stone tablets upon which Ten Commandments were penned, is kept in the temple's inner sanctum. In Judaism, it is also considered to be the location where God collected dust to make Adam.

Why is it sacred for Muslims?

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Al-Aqsa has two different meanings in Arabic: "the farthest," which relates to its location in relation to Mecca as described in the Quran, and "the ultimate," which pertains to its prestige among Muslims. Following Mecca's Masjid-al-Haram and Medina's Masjid-a-Nabawi, the mosque is Islam's third holiest location.

The Dome of the Rock, which was completed in 691 CE during the Umayyad Caliphate, is located within the complex.

The Foundation Stone, a rock out of which Muslims consider the Prophet rose to heaven, is housed within the structure. The Dome of the Rock is claimed to protect the rock from which Muhammad rose physically.

Muslims also believe that it was at this location that Prophet Muhammad led his other prophets in prayer on a miraculous night voyage from Mecca to Jerusalem.

During the month of Ramadan, which is presently ongoing, the mosque offers daily prayers and enormous gatherings for Friday prayers, which are joined by Palestinians, Arabs from Jerusalem, and Muslims from all around the globe.

The historical context

Muslims have governed the entrance to the Aqsa complex since Arabs took Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187. The United Nations formulated a scheme in 1947 to split Palestine, which was then ruled by the British, into two states: one for Jews and another for Palestinians. Because of its religious importance, East Jerusalem, which holds al-Aqsa, belongs to the international community and was administered by the United Nations.

The first Arab-Israeli war started in 1948, shortly after Israel proclaimed independence. According to an Al Jazeera report, Israel conquered roughly 78% of the territory, with the remaining sections of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza falling under Egyptian and Jordanian authority.

However, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took East Jerusalem from Jordan and eventually occupied it.

After the 1967 Six-Day War, an armed standoff involving Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, Jordan's Waqf Ministry, which had previously overseen the al-Aqsa Mosque, declined to do so. Following Israel's success in the fight, the mosque and the northern parts of the complex, also referred as Haram al-Sharif, were handed up to the Islamic Waqf Trust, an autonomous agency from the Israeli government. Within the mosque's boundaries, Israeli security services patrol and undertake searches.

Pilgrims on their way to the Muslim holy towns of Mecca and Medina often stop in Jerusalem to visit Al-Aqsa before the region's contemporary borders were drawn up. Hundreds of devotees still flock to the mosque on Fridays, and Muslim religious celebrations bring particularly big crowds.

Israel has continued to expand colonies in East Jerusalem since its occupation. Israel regards the entire city as its "unified, everlasting capital," whilst Palestinian officials all across political scale have stated that no compromise solution for a prospective Palestinian state will be acceptable unless East Jerusalem is designated as its capital.

Current clashes at Al-Aqsa?

The conflicts this month are due in part to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that began on April 2 and the Jewish festival of Passover which commenced on Friday, April 15, and lasting until April 23.

The major catalyst, though, was a sequence of street attacks against Israelis in late March, allegedly carried out by Palestinian and Arab attackers. On March 29, a Palestinian gunman open fired on Israelis in Jerusalem, killing nearly five persons, according to Israeli media.

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This was the third such street attack incident that week. Two Israeli security officers were killed in a shootout in the Israeli town of Hadera on March 27. Prior to it, on March 22, an assailant reportedly rammed a car and stabbed four Israelis.

Following the attacks, Israeli police were on high alert, and tensions erupted on April 15 as Palestinian devotees assembled in the complex for Friday prayers.

Hundreds of Palestinians threw firecrackers and pebbles at Israeli police and the Western Wall, prompting the latter to respond with rubber bullets, stun grenades, and baton charges, purportedly to disperse the other peaceful pilgrims. 152 Palestinians were hurt in the clashes, while hundreds were imprisoned by police as a result of the clashes.

Hamas urged that the police release the detainees and that Jews refrain from making "provocative visits" to Al-Aqsa.

Similar clashes occurred on April 17, wounding 17 Palestinians. The Israeli police claimed they entered the site to assist with a regular visit by Jews who are permitted to visit but not pray on the Temple Mount.

Palestinians had reportedly collected stones and erected obstacles in preparation for unrest, according to police. Following the incidents, Israeli police accused Palestinians of "defiling and desecrating" the holy place, while Palestinian leaders claimed Israel was seeking to partition the holy site.

Past clashes and controversies

Al-Aqsa is known as the "most sensitive place in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and it has been the point of numerous clashes and political disputes.

According to an article in The Conversation, in August 1969, an Australian Christian triedto burn down Al-Aqsa, destroying the historically significant and finely carved minbar ¨C or "pulpit" ¨C of Saladin, a prized item of Islamic art.

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In 1990, the Holy Mount Believers, an Orthodox Jewish movement, announced that the Dome of the Rock would be demolished and a foundation for the Third Temple would be laid in its stead. This sparked protests in which Israeli forces reportedly killed 20 Palestinians.

Ariel Sharon, the erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister, visited the holy site in September 2000, escorted by 1,000 police officers. This triggered the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising that claimed the lives of over 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis. For the first time since 1967, Israeli authorities blocked entry to Al-Aqsa after such an attack on prominent right-wing rabbi Yehuda Glick in 2014.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, the Israeli government convened its weekly meeting in tunnels beneath al-Aqsa Mosque in May 2017, a move that infuriated Palestinians.

After giving Israel an order to evacuate security personnel from the al-Aqsa site, Hamas launched rockets into Israel from Gaza in May 2021.

The deadline arrived following violence that left 300 people injured around the holy site. Israeli police entered the complex, using stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters.