Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Here's a look at its history for both Muslims and Jews.

Jerusalem

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Middle East Conflict

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, remains one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. A recent visit by Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir, who prayed at the site, has reignited outrage in the Muslim world and drawn condemnation from Palestinian leaders.

The compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation under a long-standing status quo that allows Jews to visit but not pray there. Any perceived changes to this arrangement have historically led to unrest, as seen in past violent uprisings and clashes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the policy of maintaining the status quo remains unchanged, despite calls from some officials to alter the rules.

Why is Al-Aqsa a flashpoint of violence in the Middle East?

Outrage was sparked in the Muslim world after Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir, visited and prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. The Sunday visit challenged rules covering Islam's third holiest site and the most sacred site in Judaism. It's one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. The Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of Jerusalem's Old City on a hill known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims internationally as the Noble Sanctuary. The compound overlooks the Western Wall, a sacred place of prayer for Jews. Here's Ye'ar Wallach, a historian at Soas University in London. Now for Muslims, it's sacred because this is where Prophet Muhammad's night journey to the sky is said to have begun. This is where he went from the rock to the skies. For Jews, it's sacred because this is where the binding of Isaac is said to have taken place. Under a delicate, decades-old status quo arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation. Jews can visit, but may not pray there. This was not just the position of the Palestinians and the Muslim Waqf, which administers the site and Muslim countries and so forth, but also the position of the Israeli government that they didn't mind people, non-Muslims visiting it, but other people could not pray. The idea that this is a Muslim site of prayer, if Muslims suddenly started to establish a small mosque in the middle of the Vatican, or Jews there, I think that wouldn't be seen favorably. Wallach told Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been moving more to the right and has allowed some Jewish prayer at the compound. But Netanyahu said in a statement after Ben-Gavir's visit that Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo at the compound, quote, has not changed and will not change. Ben-Gavir said in a statement he prayed on Sunday for Israel's victory over Palestinian militant group Hamas in the war in Gaza and for the return of Israeli hostages being held by militants there. He repeated his call for Israel to conquer the entire enclave. Suggestions that Israel would alter rules at the al-Aqsa compound have sparked outrage in the Muslim world and ignited violence in the past. A spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Ben-Gavir's visit, which he said crossed all red lines. It has such a resonance in Palestinian society that anyone threatening al-Aqsa was a cause to mobilize the Palestinian masses. And a lot of the violent uprising that we've seen over the last 100 years, many of them actually happened in relation to al-Aqsa. Clashes at the site in 2021 contributed to setting off 11 days of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, which ended with a ceasefire on May 21.

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Why is Al-Aqsa a flashpoint of violence in the Middle East?

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