The battle for Al-Aqsa: 'This is not about prayer'
Palestinians fear imminent Israeli moves to alter the Muslims' exclusive control of Al-Aqsa.
On Monday, chunks of rock still peppered the entrance to the Al-Aqsa
Mosque, Islam's third holiest site. Volunteers worked to remove shards
of glass and metal, but parts of the crimson and gold carpet were
charred by stun grenades hurled into the holy site by Israeli forces,
who also fired rubber-coated metal bullets at Muslim worshippers.
Clashes broke out
Sunday when soldiers cleared the way for Israelis, including a cabinet
minister, to visit the Al-Aqsa compound on Tisha B'Av, a Jewish holiday
marking the destruction of two Biblical temples.
This has become a reoccurring scene, with ominous implications, which
has ignited Palestinian fears of an Israeli takeover of the holy
esplanade. Jews call the esplanade the Temple Mount and consider it
their holiest site, and Muslims refer to it as the Noble Sanctuary or
al-Haram al-Sharif.
