What is the history of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque and why is it important?

A child runs away from a confrontation between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, at Beita village in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Palestinian demonstrators at Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. AFP

A Palestinian protester uses a sling during a confrontation with Israeli security forces during a demonstration against Jewish settlements, at Beita, in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Supporters of the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements rally after Friday prayers in Gaza City, following clashes at Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. AFP

Palestinians gather around the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, after Friday prayers. AFP

Palestinian men wearing national flags kneel to pray near the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Israeli Border Police secure the perimeter of the closed Israeli army Qalandia checkpoint, used by Palestinians to cross from the West Bank into Jerusalem, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. AP Photo

A Palestinian man removes a police sign from a wall at Al Aqsa Mosque compound after Israeli security forces used force against worshippers gathered for Ramadan prayers. Reuters

Palestinians return from Al Aqsa Mosque after Friday prayers. AFP

Supporters of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups rally after Friday prayers in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, to express support for those at Al Aqsa Mosque. AFP

Worshippers during Friday prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters at a rally on Friday in Khan Yunis. AFP

Palestinian protesters in Khan Yunis. AFP

Palestinian girls in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. AFP

Israeli police officers keep watch after clashes with Muslim worshippers in Jerusalem. The overlapping religious occasions – Ramadan for Muslims, Passover for Jews and Easter for Christians – have increased tensions near contested sacred sites in Jerusalem. Getty Images

Worshippers during Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque complex. AFP

Palestinian protesters after Friday prayers in Jerusalem. AFP

Worshippers gather for Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

An Israeli police officer stops a Muslim woman on her way to Friday prayer in Jerusalem. Getty Images

Palestinians clean Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque after Israeli security forces entered. Reuters

Palestinians clean the entrance to the mosque. Debris and broken glass cover the floor. Reuters

Palestinian youths who took part in a protest at the mosque are arrested by Israeli security forces. AFP

A member of the Israeli security forces lifts his baton in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque. Witnesses said Palestinian protesters threw stones at Israeli forces, who fired rubber bullets. AFP

Israeli security forces detain Palestinian youths after a violent confrontation at the mosque. AFP

Israeli security forces detain Palestinian protesters following the violence. Reuters

Israeli security forces take their positions during clashes with Palestinian protesters. Reuters

Palestinians are kept at bay by Israeli police during clashes. AFP

Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. Reuters

Masked Palestinians take position. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 59 wounded people were admitted to hospital. AP Photo

Israeli police fire tear gas towards Palestinian demonstrators. AFP

Israeli security forces deploy in front of the Lion's gate. AFP

Palestinians are kept at bay by Israeli police. AFP

Israeli security forces advance against worshippers and protesters Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. Witnesses said that Palestinian protesters threw stones at Israeli security forces, who fired rubber bullets at some of the demonstrators. AFP

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags had marched to the compound early on Friday and gathered stones. AFP

Palestinian demonstrators throw rocks at Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Videos circulating online showed clouds of tear gas at the mosque. AFP

Palestinians use boards to protect themselves from Israeli police, who also used rubber bullets and stun grenades. AP

Worshippers set up barricades outside the mosque during the violence. AP

Israeli police entered the compound before dawn as thousands of worshippers gathered for early morning prayers during Ramadan. AP

A man is carried on a stretcher after being wounded during the violence. AFP

The mosque is part of Haram Al Sharif, the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on a hilltop that is the most sacred site for Jews. AFP

The mosque has been a major flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence for decades.. AFP

One of the guards at the site was reportedly shot in the eye with a rubber bullet. AFP

Israeli police raided Al Aqsa Mosque before dawn on Wednesday and detained 350 people, drawing international condemnation and a furious reaction from Gaza, from where rockets were launched into Israel shortly after.

There were fears before Ramadan of an increase in violence, especially on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover at this flashpoint site, which is important to all the communities living in Jerusalem and beyond.

Al Aqsa Mosque compound is a site considered holy by Muslims, Jews and Christians and is a focal point of Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Why is Al Aqsa Mosque so important?

The compound is known as Al Haram Al Sharif by Muslims and includes Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine.

Muslims believe that the Prophet Mohammed travelled from Makkah to Jerusalem and ascended to heaven from the site.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, from Jordan during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 and annexed the area. Israel later declared a unified Jerusalem to be its capital, but that has not been recognised by the international community.

Violence at Al Aqsa during Ramadan in 2021 was one of the factors leading up to the 11-day war between Israel and extremist groups in Gaza. Further flare-ups since then have been averted with the help of mediation by Egypt.

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What led to the 2021 Gaza war?

Palestinians demonstrated for several weeks starting in March 2021 over a potential Israeli court ruling to expel Palestinian families from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli settlers in Sheikh Jarrah laid claim to the properties, citing historical and religious grounds.

The Palestinian protests turned into confrontations with Israeli police and far-right Israeli settlers in the area, followed by a spate of arson attacks and stabbings involving Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians gathered at Al Aqsa Mosque to protest against what they described as Israel’s attempts to change the demography of East Jerusalem and assert Israeli control over it. Israeli police raided the mosque after Palestinians started throwing stones at them, according to Israeli officials.

The incident left dozens of Palestinians injured. Hamas, which rules Gaza and is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and several other countries, fired rockets into Israeli cities and Jerusalem.

Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and an 11-day war erupted.

According to the UN, 261 Palestinians were killed, including 41 women, 67 children, and three people with disabilities, most in Israeli strikes. At least 130 were civilians. More than 2,200 Palestinians were injured.

Ten Israeli citizens and residents were killed by rockets launched by Palestinian armed groups, and 710 others were injured, the UN said.

Why is Jerusalem Day controversial?

Israel's annual celebration of Jerusalem Day, an official holiday that commemorates its capture of the entire city, has added to the tensions.

The event, which starts at sunset on May 18 in 2023, is seen as a provocation by Palestinians, who aspire to have East Jerusalem as the capital of their long-awaited state.

Israeli nationalists regularly stage a flag march that takes them through the Old City's Muslim Quarter by the Damascus Gate. They usually sing patriotic songs, but in the past some marchers have been filmed chanting violent, often racist, anti-Arab slurs.

The march and prayers by Jews at the site have led to Palestinian-Israeli violence in the compound of Al Aqsa Mosque on several occasions.

Al Aqsa Mosque is administered by a waqf — an Islamic trust — that is funded and controlled by Jordan in a security arrangement with Israel after both countries signed a peace treaty in 1994. Under the arrangement, Jews are not allowed to pray in the grounds of Al Aqsa compound but can pray at the nearby Western Wall.

Last year, an Israeli court ruled that Jews could pray at Al Aqsa as long as they did so silently. The verdict was condemned by many Palestinians.

What are the controversial metal detectors at Al Aqsa?

In 2017, Israel introduced new security measures at Al Aqsa compound, including the installation of metal detectors and security cameras.

The move followed two attacks in and around Jerusalem in which five Israelis were killed, including two police officers. The attacks came after the fatal shootings of three Palestinians by Israeli security forces.

The metal detectors sparked more unrest, in which six Palestinians were killed.

In protest, Muslims prayed in front of police barricades in the streets around the Old City. The detectors were removed after weeks of protests, violence and international pressure.

In 2000, Ariel Sharon, who was Israeli opposition leader at the time, centre, visited Al Aqsa Mosque compound. His visit played a major role in sparking the Second Intifada. AFP

What is the Al Aqsa intifada?

A controversial visit to Al Aqsa Mosque by the late Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2000, when he was leader of the opposition, sparked what became known as the Second Intifada, or uprising. The first one began in 1987 over Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

Protests against Sharon's visit ballooned into an armed conflict in which more than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed.