The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif is a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is one of the most important religious sites in the world.
It has been venerated as a holy site for thousands of years by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The present site is dominated by three monumental structures from the early Umayyad period: the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Chain, as well as four minarets.
Herodian walls and gates with additions dating back to the late Byzantine and early Islamic periods cut through the flanks of the Mount.
Currently it can be reached through eleven gates, ten reserved for Muslims and one for non-Muslims, with guard posts of Israeli police in the vicinity of each.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, which regards it as the place where God’s divine presence is manifested more than in any other place.
As the site is part of the Old City, controlled by Israel since 1967, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim sovereignty over it, and it remains a major focal point of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
In an attempt to keep the status quo, the Israeli government enforces a controversial ban on prayer by non-Muslims.
Israel has reopened Jerusalem’s Noble Sanctuary-Temple Mount compound. It is in the eastern part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in a 1967 Middle East war, houses the Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock.
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