Protester i Jerusalem – 17-åring dödad av polis

The Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת, romanized: Har haBayīt, lit. 'Mount of the House [of the Holy]') is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a holy site in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for thousands of years. It is the site of a large mosque compound known as Al-Aqsa or al-Aqsa mosque compound (المسجد الأقصى, al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, lit. 'The Furthest Mosque'), known honorifically as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's sacred (or holy) esplanade.The plaza is surrounded by retaining walls (including the Western Wall), originally built by King Herod in the first century BCE, with additions from the late Byzantine, early Muslim, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, and can be reached through eleven gates, ten reserved for Muslims and one for non-Muslims. The courtyard is also surrounded on the north and west by two Mamluk-era porticos (riwaq) and four minarets. It is dominated by two monumental structures originally built during the Rashidun and early Umayyad caliphates after the city's capture in 637 CE: the main praying hall of al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, near the center of the hill, which is the oldest extant Islamic structure in the world. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, as it is where past Jewish temples are commonly believed to have stood. According to Jewish tradition and scripture, the First Temple was built by King Solomon, the son of King David, in 957 BCE, and was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, together with Jerusalem, in 587 BCE. No archaeological evidence has been found to verify this, but scientific excavations have been limited due to religious sensitivities. The Second Temple was constructed under the auspices of Zerubbabel in 516 BCE, was renovated by King Herod, and was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 CE. Orthodox Jewish tradition maintains it is here that the third and final Temple will be built when the Messiah comes. The Temple Mount is the place Jews turn towards during prayer. Jewish attitudes towards entering the site vary. Due to its extreme sanctity, many Jews will not walk on the Mount itself, to avoid unintentionally entering the area where the Holy of Holies stood, since, according to rabbinical law, there is still some aspect of the divine presence at the site.The Al-Aqsa mosque compound, atop the site, is the second oldest mosque in Islam, one of the three Sacred Mosques, the holiest sites in Islam, and is revered as "the Noble Sanctuary". The courtyard (sahn) can host more than 400,000 worshippers, making it one of the largest mosques in the world. For Sunni and Shia Muslims alike, it ranks as the third holiest site in Islam. The plaza includes the location regarded as where the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, and served as the first "qibla", the direction Muslims turn towards when praying. As in Judaism, Muslims also associate the site with Solomon and other prophets who are also venerated in Islam. The site, and the term "al-Aqsa", in relation to the whole plaza, is also a central identity symbol for Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.Since the Crusades, the Muslim community of Jerusalem has managed the site through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. The site, along with the whole of East Jerusalem (which includes the Old City), was controlled by Jordan from 1948 until 1967 and has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. Shortly after capturing the site, Israel handed its administration back to the Waqf under the Jordanian Hashemite custodianship, while maintaining Israeli security control. The Israeli government enforces a ban on prayer by non-Muslims as part of an arrangement usually referred to as the "status quo". The site remains a major focal point of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.