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Wetin be al-Aqsa and why e be flashpoint?

Di Al-Aqsa mosque for Jerusalem

Fri, 7 Apr 2023 Source: BBC

Violence don dey for di al-Aqsa mosque for occupied East Jerusalem, and Israeli police dey raid am to stop one group of Palestinian youths from barricading diasef inside.

Israel police refer to di group of Palestinian youths as agitators.

Dis one don trigger angry reaction from across di West Bank, Gaza and di wider Muslim world.

Why al-Aqsa dey so important?

Al-Aqsa dey for di middle of Jerusalem's Old City and stand on one hill known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary.

Di 14-hectare site dey known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit or Temple Mount.

Al-Aqsa Mosque na di name given to di whole compound, and na home to two Muslim holy places: di Dome of di Rock and di al-Aqsa or Qibli Mosque - wey dem build for 8th Century CE.

Muslims regard al-Aqsa as di third holiest place in Islam, afta Mecca and Medina.

Various figures wey Muslims regard as prophets bin worship dia, such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ilyas (Elijah) and Isa (Jesus).

Muslims believe say dem take Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to al-Aqsa, and from dia to heaven, during one single night for 620CE.

Di same site, di Temple Mount, na also di single most sacred site for Jews.

Dem believe King Solomon build di first temple dia 3,000 years ago. For 70CE, di Romans destroy di second Jewish temple wey dem build dia

Who dey run di al-Aqsa site nowadays?

Israel capture di al-Aqsa site in di 1967 war between Israel and dia Arab neighbours, and annex am along wit di rest of East Jerusalem and nearby parts of di West Bank.

Dis areas bin dey under Egyptian and Jordanian control at di time, and Israel move bin no dey recognised internationally.

Di Hashemite monarch of Jordan na di official custodian of both di Muslim and Christian places of worship for di al-Asqa site.

Im appoint members of one endowment called di Islamic Waqf to oversee am.

Under one longstanding arrangement, non-Muslims fit visit di al-Aqsa site, but only Muslims dey allowed to worship for di mosque compound.

Di Chief Rabbinate of Israel no allow Jews to enta di Temple Mount compound sake of say e dey considered too holy for dem to waka ontop.

Di goment of Israel rule say Christians and Jews fit only visit di site as tourists, and only for four hours a day and five days a week.

Jewish pipo worship for di Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, below di Temple Mount - wey dey believed to be di last surviving remnant of Solomon's temple.

What conflicts have broken out at al-Aqsa?

For 2000, Ariel Sharon, wey bi di den leader of Israel main opposition party, lead one group of lawmakers from di right-wing Likud party onto di site.

E tok: "Di Temple Mount dey for our hands and go remain for our hands. Na di holiest site for Judaism and na di right of evri Jew to visit di Temple Mount."

Palestinians bin protest, and violent clashes bin dey wey escalate into di second Palestinian uprising, also known as di al-Aqsa Intifada. More dan 3,000 Palestinians and some 1,000 Israelis die for di uprising.

For May 2021, Palestinians wey dey protest against di eviction of some families clash wit Israeli police for di al-Aqsa site, and e lead to injury for at least 163 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers.

In response to dis, dis Islamist group Hamas fire rockets towards Jerusalem from di Gaza Strip, and e trigger 11 days fight-fight wit Israel.

Last year, di first time wey Islamic holy month of Ramadan and di week-long Jewish holiday of Passover happun at di same time in 30 years, violent scenes bin dey as Israeli police clear di courtyard bifor escorting Jewish visitors into di compound.

Di police tok say pipo throw stones towards di Western Wall.

For di most recent incident, police bin raid di al-Aqsa mosque and tok say "agitators" bin barricade diasef and worshippers inside. Di police tok say dem bin dey use stones and fireworks as weapons.

Palestinians tok say di police bin use stun grenades and rubber bullets, and 50 pipo bin dey hurt.

Di protests bin start sake of reports say Jewish extremists plan to sacrifice one goat on Temple Mount for Passover - as Jews bin do for Biblical times bifor di Romans destroy di temple.

Israeli police and religious authorities say dem no go allow dat kain tin to happun.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insist say di police "gatz act to restore order... free access to all religions and di status quo on di Temple Mount."

However, di Islamic Waqf call di police raid "flagrant violation of di identity and function of di mosque as place of worship for Muslims alone".

Israeli media report say militants fire 16 rockets from Gaza in response.

Source: BBC