Al-Aqsa visit sparks new fears of violence

National Security Minister Ben-Gvir went up Temple Mount despite international protests and fears that the provocation could destabilise the fragile compromise at the holy site.

Ariel Sharon’s visit to Temple Mount on September 28, 2000, ended quietly. The violence only exploded the next day when tens of thousands who attended Friday prayers clashed with police, and the shockwaves soon spread to the West Bank. Within days, Israel had slid into the Second Intifada, the bloodiest Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which cost the lives of thousands.

History doesn't repeat itself, nor can conditions in East Jerusalem in 2000 be compared to those of today. Also not comparable are Sharon’s publicised and flashy visit and the hurried visit, replete with misdirection stunts, held by new National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

But the quiet with which this week’s visit was received on the Palestinian street promises nothing regarding the future. In the past hundred years, the Palestinians have proved on numerous occasions that al-Aqsa is a bright red line.

In the Palestinian view, all of Temple Mount is al-Aqsa, and therefore there's no room for Jewish worship on it. But it’s much more than that. It's a national, religious, and political symbol of the first order, and any change to it is seen as a personal and national humiliation, demanding response.

Visits by senior Israeli figures are considered by the Palestinian and the entire Arab world as a violation of the exclusive control of the Muslim Waqf over the compound. The Waqf’s terminology refers to these visits as an “incursion” or “invasion.” These terms were adopted in all the condemnation announcements by Arab governments: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.