Pre-1967
1910
In search of the treasures of the ‘Second Temple’, excavations led by British ex-army Captain Montague Parker penetrate Al-Haram Ash-Sharif and cause angry protests that force Parker to flee.
1911
After the guardian of the Abu Median Waqf (the Mughrabi Quarter) complains that Jews have placed chairs on the pavement before the Western Wall, and the Mufti as well as the Shari’a Court confirm that it is inadmissible by law to place chairs, screens, etc. there or to make any innovations “which might indicate ownership,” the Administrative Council of Jerusalem also decides that it is not permissible to place there any articles that could be “considered as indications of ownership.”
Spring 1911: Captain Montague Parker bribes some Waqf officials and begins excavating under the Haram compound, but is soon discovered and has to flee the country.
1920
Nov. 9: British High Commissioner Samuel convenes Islamic notables and British officials to discuss the future of Islamic affairs. It is resolved to (a) leave the financial affairs of the Islamic Waqf under the Mandate govt.’s supervision; (b) place responsibility for appointing Islamic court officials in the hands of a suggested ‘Islamic Higher Committee’; and (c) appoint a ‘preparatory committee,’ comprising British officials and Islamic leaders, as well as to draft a law governing such a committee.
1928
Sept. 28: The guardian of the Waqf of the Mughrabi sends another protest letter against Jews putting up chairs near the Wailing Wall and trespassing upon Waqf land. The Supreme Muslim Council files a complaint with the Governor on the same matter.
1929
Aug. 15: A group of Jews demonstrate outside the Mandatory offices before provocatively marching through the Muslim quarter to the Western Wall, waving flags and singing patriotic Zionist songs. In protest, Muslims hold a demonstration after Friday prayers the next day.
Aug. 23-24: Confrontations over Jewish access to the Wailing Wall turn into violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in the Old City and throughout Jerusalem.
1937
Oct. 1: British Mandate Govt. dissolves the Arab Higher Committee and all National Committees, declares them illegal, arrests numerous members, five of whom are deported to Seychelles Islands, and officially strip Haj Amin Al-Husseini of his positions as Chairman of the Waqf and Pres. of the Supreme Muslim Council. Marks the beginning of the second Great Rebellion that lasts till 1939.
1948
July 16: Jewish forces raid the Al-Aqsa compound; dropping 65 bombs and hitting the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosques.
Assaults on Al-Aqsa since 1967
1967
June 7: The Old City of Jerusalem is occupied by Israeli forces; Israel confiscates the keys to Bab Al-Magharbeh (western gate of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound) and has not yet returned them to the Islamic Waqf. The Israeli flag is raised above the Western Wall.
June 9: Friday midday prayers are interrupted on orders from the occupation authorities for the first time since Salah Ed-Din reconquered the city from the Crusaders in 1167, when battle breaks out near Haram Ash-Sharif compound because the Israelis deny Muslim worshiper entry to the compound.
June 10: Following the June War Israel declares Jerusalem unified, illegally extending its jurisdiction to the eastern part of the city, a move that remains unrecognized by the international community.
June 11: The inhabitants of the Old City’s Mughrabi Quarter adjacent to the Wailing Wall are given three hours to evacuate their homes, before the entire quarter is demolished to create a plaza to accommodate the presumed influx of Jewish pilgrims. 800 acres of the Old City land are expropriated.
June 14: The Wailing Wall is opened to the Israeli public while the inhabitants of the Old City are put under curfew.
June 24: Israeli army takes over the Tankiziyya School (‘Al-Mahkama’) at Silsileh Gate in the Old City to turn it into a military base.
June 28: Prime Minister Levi Eshkol meets Muslim and Christian leaders and pledges free access to all holy places and the government’s intention to place the internal administration for the holy places in the hands of the respective religious leaders.
July 18: On the pretext that Jerusalem is part of Israel Muslims are ordered to separate the Jerusalem Shari’a system from that of the West Bank, the West Bank Islamic High Court of Appeals is required to transfer its seat to Ramallah or Nablus while the Jerusalem Court is ordered to place itself under the Israeli Muslim Court of Appeals in West Jerusalem.
Summer: The first stage of Israeli excavations under Al-Haram Ash-Sharif begin mainly at the lower part of the southern wall and the women’s mosque, posing great danger to adjacent buildings.
Aug. 8: A committee headed by the Minister of Religious Affairs Zerah Warhaftig is given cabinet responsibility for the holy places in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Aug. 9: Shlomo Goren, Chief Rabbi of the Israeli Army, leads 50 armed extremists onto Al-Haram Ash-Sharif to conduct prayers there, calling it “a holy commandment” for Jews.
Aug. 15: Israel’s chief military chaplain, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, and members of the Chief Rabbinate, decide that Jews who want to pray must do so at the Western Wall and not on the compound above. Since then, Jews and foreign tourists can only enter the site through the Mughrabi (Magharbeh, or Dung) Gate.
Aug. 22: The Chief Rabbinate puts up signs outside the Compound noting the religious ban on visiting the Haram Ash-Sharif area.
– In light of Israel’s intention to broaden the plaza near the Western Wall, 29 Muslim clergymen sign a fatwa reaffirming the special holiness of Al-Aqsa for Muslims, the ownership of the compound as well as the Western Wall and warning that any change to the status quo constitutes an aggression with far-reaching effects on the entire Muslim world.
1968
March: Excavations of a tunnel along Al-Buraq (The Western Wall) of the Haram Ash-Sharif begin, initiated by the Rabbinate and the Min. of Religious Affairs, with the intention of finding traces of the destroyed Second Jewish Temple.
Early in the year: Orthodox Rabbi and philosopher Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz publishes his essay “The Territories,” in which he describes the idea of a Greater Israel as a “monstrosity” and warns that “rule over the occupied territories will have social repercussions… the Arabs will be the working people and the Jews the administrators, inspectors, officials and police. A state ruling a hostile population of 1.5 to 2 million foreigners will necessarily become a secret-police state, with all this implies for education, free speech and democratic institutions; the corruption characteristic of every colonial regime will also prevail in the state of Israel.” Adding that, “the idea that a specific country or location have any intrinsic “holiness” is an indubitably idolatrous idea,” he rejects the religious significance of Israeli rule over the “Temple Mount” and concludes by quoting from the book of Jeremiah:”When you entered you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.”
1969
April 15: Responding to an order against the Police Minister Shlomo Hillel, State Attorney Zvi Bar Niv explains that Jews should not be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount because “premature prayer” by Jews on the Temple Mount would raise grave security and international political problems. The plaintiff is the Faithful of the Temple Mount.
June 16: Israeli authorities seize the south-western section of Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
June 24: Israeli authorities seize the traditional Tankaziyya School at Silsila Gate and convert it into an Israeli Police station; the building is still used as military base today.
Aug. 18: The first attempt (by about 25 Jews of the Zionist Bitar group) to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque is made, breaking into the compound and reciting verses from the Torah.
Aug. 21: Denis Michael Rohan, an Australian Christian-Zionist, Rohan sets fire inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, burning its 12th Century pulpit or Nurreddin Zinki ‘minbar’ (where the imam stands to deliver a sermon). Angry demonstrations break out throughout the Arab world.
Aug. 27: Rohan identifying himself as a member of the “Church of God” tells the court he acted as the Lord’s “emissary” in accordance with the Book of Zechariah. The site is closed to non-Muslims for two months.
Sept. 15: UN Security Council Resolution 271 (1969) condemns the act of destruction and profanation of Al-Aqsa.
Oct. 21: The Islamic Higher Council convenes and issues a statement protesting the Israeli authorities confiscation of the keys of Bab Al-Mughrabi, the seizing of Tankazziyya School, and the continued excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque. They further decide to close the gates of Al-Aqsa compound temporarily to any foreign visitor.
Nov. 16: In the course of a second stage of excavations under Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, Israeli occupation authorities seize the Fakhriyya corner on the southwestern side of the compound.
Dec. 19: A group of Jews storm their way to Al-Haram Ash-Sharif to conduct Hanukkah prayers.
Dec. 30: A court convicts Rohan of arson at Al-Aqsa Mosque but declares him not criminally liable by reason of insanity.
1970
Spring: A third stage of Israeli excavations under Al-Haram Ash-Sharif begins covering a length of 180 m under the old Islamic court and five gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 14: Members of the right wing Temple Mount Faithful group, led by Gershon Solomon, forcibly enter Al-Aqsa compound, triggering clashes during which several Muslim worshippers suffered injuries.
Sept. 9: High Court of Justice decides it has no jurisdiction in matters connected with the right and claims of different religious groups and will thus not interfere with the government’s position prohibiting Jewish prayer on the Mount.
1971
March 3: Jewish extremist Gershon Solomon tries to lead a group of Temple Mount Faithful followers onto Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, but is stopped by Palestinian guards.
July 11: Members of the extremist Zionist Bitar group enter Al-Aqsa and try to pray there.
July 22: Members of the extremist Zionist Bitar group enter Al-Aqsa and perform religious rituals.
Dec. 31: At a press conference on the Israeli occupation authorities’ plans to Judaize Jerusalem, former mayor of Jerusalem Ruhi Al-Khatib says that Israel uses excavations as a means of demolition of Islamic artifacts, especially at Haram Ash-Sharif.
1973
Feb. 11: Israeli excavations under the southeastern part of Al-Aqsa cause a major interior wall to collapse; the ongoing excavations also endanger other buildings.
1974
March 3: Gershon Solomon and his followers of the Temple Mount Faithful storm Al-Aqsa Mosque.
March 12: The Chairman of the Islamic Council, Sheikh Al-Muhtasib, warns the Israeli authorities that excavations have caused a crack in the building of the historical Jawhariyah School west of the Al-Haram compound, demanding an immediate halt to the work and repair of the damage.
1976
Feb. 8: An Israeli court passes a ruling allowing Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 28: An Israeli judge allows some Jews, accompanied by a group of Israeli MPs, to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque. When they are stopped by the guards, they react by hoisting the Israeli flag and reciting the Israeli national anthem.
1978
July 14: Gershon Solomon of the Temple Mount Faithful leads militant Jews onto Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
1979
August: Members of Jewish extremist groups led by Gershon Solomon and Meir Kahane try to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque but are prevented by thousands of Palestinians; ensuing clashes leave dozens of Palestinians wounded.
Sept.: Jewish extremists block one of the entrances to Al-Aqsa on Friday, pointing guns at the worshippers.
Oct. 11: Israeli forces wound dozens of worshippers by shooting and throwing tear gas into Al-Aqsa.
1980
April 19: A group of religious Jews hold a semi-secret conference and announce that they will work on ways and means “to liberate the Temple Mount from Muslim hands.”
May: Israeli forces find explosives near Al-Aqsa, stored there by the Meir Kahane group members.
Aug. 10: Some 300 armed settlers from the Gush Emunim group storm Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, but are later dispersed.
August 28: Israeli authorities dig a tunnel right underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 5: Rabbi Meir Kahane of the Gush Emunim terrorist group attempts to blow up Al-Aqsa with explosives. 120 kg of high explosives and scores of bombs were accidentally discovered only 2 minutes before donation at a distance of 50 m from Al-Aqsa. It was a Friday, meaning a day when tens of thousands of Palestinians would gather in Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for prayer.
Sept. 15: Gush Emunim settlers again force their way onto Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
1981
April: Forcing his way into the Dome of the Rock with gunshots, an armed man kills three Muslim guards and nine civilians, wounding dozens more.
May: The call to prayer is prohibited from the minaret overlooking the Western Wall due to a Jewish celebration.
Aug. 21: Israeli authorities begin a new stage of excavations, digging a tunnel beneath the Haram compound between Bab As-Silsileh and Bab Al-Qattanin. As the work causes a lot of cracks, the Waqf blocks the entrance with concrete on 29 Aug..
Aug.: An Israeli helicopter hovers over Al-Aqsa Mosque preventing worshippers inside from hearing the sermon.
Aug. 28: Israeli authorities start digging a tunnel beneath Al-Aqsa.
Oct. 21: Jewish settlers try to break into the Al-Aqsa Mosque but are prevented by guards.
Nov. 30: The Israeli High Court of Justice rules that the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount is essentially a political issue to be decided upon by the Govt. as in the light of Muslim attitudes to the problem, it cannot be dealt with by the judiciary.
1982
March 2: Assaulting a Muslim guard at Chain Gate, (Bab As-Silsila), an armed Yeshiva student tries to enter Al-Aqsa compound, but is overpowered.
March 30: The Waqf receives numerous letters urging it to abandon the “Temple Mount” and warning them of the dire consequence if they won’t comply.
April 8: At the entrance to Al-Aqsa explosives are discovered placed there by the Gush Emunim along with leaflets threatening to blow up the Mosque.
April 11: American-born Israeli soldier Alan Harry Goodman shoots his way into Al-Aqsa compound, allegedly in order to “liberate” it from Muslim control, killing two and wounding 11 before being subdued. (Goodman was later sentenced and served 15 ½ years of a life sentence in prison).
April 27: Leader of the far-right Kach party, Meir Kahane, marches with followers on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif carrying a large diagram of the Second Temple he was planning to build “on the ruins” of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
May 20: Muslim Waqf officials receive death threats from several Zionist organizations.
May: On several occasions the Supreme Muslim Council receives letters signed by ‘Kahane’ and the ‘Village Leagues,’ warning not to oppose Jewish prayers on the “Temple Mount” and threatening to explode mosques.
July 25: Yoel Lerner of the Kach movement storms Al-Haram Ash-Sharif planning to destroy the Dome of the Rock.
Oct. 26: The leader of the Kach movement is convicted of trying to blow up the Dome of the Rock.
1983
March 4: Bomb found and dismantled at entrance of Al-Aqsa Mosque; Israeli police detain 16 people for questioning, suspect Jewish extremist group.
March 10: Israeli police arrest 45 Jews, incl. 16 soldiers, armed with guns and grenades, as they prepare to seize Jerusalem’s ‘Temple Mount’, site of Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock.
March 21: Some 29 Jews are placed under house arrest, fined NIS 5,000 in connection with the 10 March incident; Supreme Muslim Council calls for an educational and commercial strike to protest the incident.
March 26: Due to Israeli excavations underneath the Waqf office’s main entrance collapses.
April 3: Muslim religious leaders call students to hold protest gathering at Dome of Rock against last year’s Easter attack by an Israeli soldier; police use teargas to disperse demonstration near Damascus Gate, and prevent group of 50 Jewish religious nationalists, incl. Meir Kahane, from entering Al-Aqsa. Temple Mount group then holds prayers outside gates; teenage nephew of Kahane arrested after firing Uzi at Palestinian demonstrators.
May 10: Israeli High Court of Justice permits Jewish prayer demonstration near the Mughrabi Gate of Al-Aqsa Compound.
Nov. 20: US Jews begin fundraising for the construction of the “Temple Mount” to be built on Al-Aqsa compound.
1984
Jan. 27: Ben Shoshan and Yehuda Etzion – members of the Jewish underground, led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger and accused of anti-Palestinian attacks and violence, and founding figures in the pro-settlement Gush Emunim movement in Israel – plot to blow up the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock but are apprehended by security guards.
Jan. 30: Three bombs, used by the Israeli army, are found inside a big pumpkin near Al-Aqsa Mosque and a grenade is found near Via Dolorosa.
Jan.: Kahane refuses to condemn an attempt to bomb the Al-Aqsa Mosque, declaring that the Muslim shrines atop the Temple Mount should be “dismantled” and the site returned to Jewish control, adding, “The presence of Muslims in the most holy Jewish site is a sin.”
March 26: Work by the WJM and excavations by the Israeli Min. of Religious Affairs lead to the collapse of structures of the Manjakiyah School right of the Haram Ash-Sharif.
March 29: The Archaeological Department of the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs digs a tunnel, 1×2 m and 10 m deep near the western part of Al-Aqsa Mosque, endangering the Islamic Council building.
July 17: Palestinian guards prevent a Jewish fanatic from ramming a car into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Aug. 1: Al-Aqsa security guards foil an attempt by a group of Jewish extremists, known as the ‘Lifta Underground’, to blow up the mosque.
Aug. 8: Meir Kahane is prevented from breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to hoist an Israeli flag on Tishah b’Av (day marking the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples).
Sept. 21: Avinoam Katrieli, member of the Jewish underground is convicted of plotting to bomb the Dome of the Rock and sentenced to 15 months effective and 33 months suspended prison term.
Nov. 5: Waqf officials issue a complaint about the “disrespectful behavior of Israeli policemen” at the Haram Ash-Sharif, incl. eating, lounging, playing radios loudly, and mistreating worshippers.
Nov. 10: Palestinian shops, schools and public transport workers strike protesting the Israeli police post on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
1985
May 12: Jewish extremist Yehudah Etzion of Hai Vekayam, who has been arrested along with some other zealots, admits plotting to blow up the Dome of the Rock to clear the site for reconstruction of the Jewish Temple, they are arrested and imprisoned.
May 23: Jewish underground defendant Menachem Neuberger pleads guilty to charges of plotting to blow up the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
June 15: Israeli forces assault Palestinian worshippers celebrating Lailat Al-Qadr (27th of Ramadan), beating them, destroying their prayer mats and arresting several.
July 10: After a 13-month trial in the Jerusalem District Court, 15 Jewish underground defendants are found guilty, three are convicted of murder, 12 of attempted murder, manslaughter, attempted sabotage, illegal possession and transport of arms and explosives, damage to military property, membership of a terrorist organization, conspiracy to blow up the Dome of the Rock, and failure to prevent a crime. The next day FM Shamir is quoted as saying those sentenced are “excellent people who made a mistake.”
July 28: Members of Kach and the Temple Mount Faithful attempt to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to pray; Israeli police refuse Kach members but allow Temple Mount Faithful in on the condition that they do not pray.
Aug. 21: Israeli police permit Jewish extremists to hold prayers within the confines of the Al-Aqsa compound, if 10 ask admittance together.
1986
Jan. 8: Muslim worshippers clash with Israeli police after 10 Israeli MKs investigating reports of illegal construction on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound try to take photographs. Further confrontations occur when a 16-member delegation of MKs returns to the site on 14 Jan., attempting to photograph and pray there.
Jan. 14: Palestinian East Jerusalem shopkeepers strike in protest at the provocations of Israeli MKs trying to take photographs and pray on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
Jan. 30: Sephardi Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu proposes erecting a synagogue on the Haram Ash-Sharif.
Feb. 3: East Jerusalem shuts down in strike protesting Israeli moves against the Haram Ash-Sharif in the past weeks; the strike coincides with a call by the Al-Quds Committee for a 30-minute work stoppage in all Muslim countries.
June 6: Israeli police arrest some 100 Jewish extremists who try to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque during celebrations of the 19th anniversary of the ‘reunification of Jerusalem’ attended by 10,000.
Aug. 4: A group of Rabbis and Jewish extremists issue a ruling allowing Jews to pray at the Haram Ash-Sharif and announce their determination to build a synagogue in the Mosque compound.
1987
Feb. 4: Israeli Min. of Religious Affairs orders the resumption of excavations under the Western Wall, after the digging was halted by the former Min. because of its threat to Arab houses in the area.
May 23: Israeli police teargas Muslim worshippers at Damascus Gate marching towards Al-Aqsa Mosque to mark Lailat Al-Qadr.
June 10: Israeli officials and MKs, accompanied by over 800 soldiers visit Al-Aqsa Mosque.
June 16: Waqf board members reject an Israeli High Court invitation to participate in a lawsuit over renovations of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Oct. 11: Hundreds of Muslim demonstrators clash with members of the Temple Mount Faithful, who try to pray near Al-Aqsa Mosque, escorted by Israeli forces. East Jerusalem strikes and Nablus residents march in protest.
Oct. 17: In Jerusalem, Kach members attempting to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque clash with Palestinian guards.
1988
Jan. 15: At least 70 Palestinians are injured when Israeli riot police attack worshippers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
Jan. 22: As Arab merchants continue their commercial strike, some 600 Israeli police stand guard outside Haram Ash-Sharif.
Jan. 29: Six Palestinians are arrested on charges of raising Palestinian flags and chanting nationalist slogans after prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
May 12: Israeli police arrest 38 Palestinians demonstrating after Lailat Al-Qadr services at Haram Ash-Sharif, wound several.
May 24: In order to show “Jewish presence” MKs Dov Shilansky and Ovadia Eli tour Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
July 2: The Israeli Min. of Religious Affairs begins digging a tunnel near Al-Ghanmeh Gate.
July 3: Palestinians protesting Israeli attempts to excavate near the Al-Aqsa Mosque clash with soldiers; 15 are wounded, seven arrested.
July 24: Israeli police prevent extremist Jews from carrying the Israeli flag through Al-Aqsa compound.
Nov. 18: In Jerusalem, Israeli police prevent worshipers from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
1989
Jan. 14: A group of MKs, protected by Israeli forces, read the so-called “Holy Mercy” inside Al-Aqsa.
April 7: During clashes that erupt after Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, four Palestinians are injured, 37 arrested, eight Israelis are injured. In related unrest in the West Bank over 10 Palestinians are injured.
April 14: Israel prohibits OPT residents (except East Jerusalem) from worshipping at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
April 21: Israeli police prevent hundreds of Palestinians from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
April 30: Israeli police escort some 50 Temple Mount Faithful members through the Al-Aqsa compound.
May 2: Israeli authorities prevent Palestinians from the OPT from entering Al-Aqsa mosque to celebrate Lailat Al-Qadr (the night the Qur’an was revealed).
1990
Oct. 8: During protests triggered by an attempt by Jewish extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful to lay the cornerstone for a Jewish temple on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, Israeli forces kill 22 Palestinians and injure over 100 others. (Israeli judge Ezra Kama later rules in July 1991 that the Israeli police, not the Palestinians, provoked the violence).
Oct. 12: UN Sec. Council Res. 672 condemns Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, recommends the dispatch of a fact-finding mission to investigate the circumstances.
Oct. 19: Friday prayers are delayed for two hours as the Israeli authorities deny Muslim worshippers entry to Al-Aqsa compound.
1991
1992
April 26: Egyptian architects inspecting Islamic holy places in the OPT report that sites such as Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are suffering from neglect and Israeli diggings near them, and that some $10 million are required to repair the shrines.
May 10: King Hussein announces personal donation of $8.25 million to restore Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques in East Jerusalem.
1993
Aug. 10: WJM police announce plans for a new special 120-man force to patrol Haram Ash-Sharif in response to the 8 Oct. 1990 massacre at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 23: Israeli High Court rules that Haram Ash-Sharif forms part of ‘Land of Israel’ and is subject to Israeli laws.
Oct.: Temple Mount Faithful files a complaint against the Waqf claiming that renovation at the Dome of the Rock is illegal since not authorized by Israel.
Nov.: The Islamic Waqf is summoned to the Israeli High Court regarding a suit filed by the right-wing Temple Mount Faithful, demanding to halt renovation work on Al-Aqsa Mosque, challenging the Waqf’s authority over Islamic holy sites.
1994
Feb.: A group of Israeli extremists tries to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque but were ordered to leave by police.
Feb. 25: Israeli soldiers shoot dead a Palestinian youth and wound several in the Dome of the Rock after clashes erupted in protest of the Hebron massacre.
March 29: Clashes erupt in the Old City as the Temple Mount Faithful stage a march which intends to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound. At least 5 Palestinians injured.
June 20: The Waqf accuses Israel of digging a tunnel under the Via Dolarosa that threatens Islamic property around Al-Aqsa compound.
June 27: Waqf officials stop Israeli bulldozers from working on the building of a tunnel near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in an area declared a ‘green area’ by the WJM.
July 15: The Israeli High Court decides to allow Jews to worship at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif the next day.
Aug. 19: Israeli media reports about a plan to start a huge project (“The King’s Hill”) around the Old City, including a huge park, roads to the Church of Gethsemane, construction of “Rahma Gate” underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a subterranean road from the Church of Gethsemane to the wall of Silwan.
Aug.: Extremist Kach members vandalize the Islamic graveyard at Lion’s Gate near Al-Aqsa Mosque, destroy dozens of gravestones and paint “Death to Arabs” on others.
– Jerusalem Waqf Director Adnan Husseini condemns the WJM plans for a tourist project on the Salhudha land south-east of Al-Aqsa Mosque, that includes the expropriation of 36 dunums of Waqf land; calls it a dangerous attack and desecration of Islamic shrines and graves.
Sept. 25: Israeli police prevents Temple Mount Faithful members from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate Sukkot so as to avoid clashes with Palestinians.
Sept.: Alan Goodman, sentenced to life for killing one and injuring 20 at Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1982, attempts to enter Al-Aqsa during his monthly 48-hour parole but is prevented by Waqf officials.
Oct. 26: The Wadi Araba peace treaty signed between Jordan-Israel states that Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Waqf properties in Jerusalem remain under Jordanian custodianship, and that, “Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.”
Oct.: Israeli MKs make a provocative visit to Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, allegedly to supervise illegal buildings. Waqf Min. Hassan Tahboub and other Waqf officials protest this interference in Islamic affairs, calling the visit provocative. The initiator of the visit Matza (Likud) says the visit shall prove the world that Israel is responsible for whole Jerusalem, incl. Muslim sites.
Nov. 3: As a US Catholic Church group visits Al-Aqsa Mosque in solidarity with Palestinians, five Christian Palestinians included in the delegation are banned by Israeli police from entering until Waqf Min. Tahboub’s intervenes.
Nov. 29: Extremists from the “Alive and Well” movement (led by Yehuda Ezion) try to enter Al-Aqsa compound which they try to recapture as part of their goal to reestablish the “Kingdom of Israel”.
Dec.: The Waqf warns that Israeli diggings beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque may lead to its collapse, saying Israeli workers use chemicals to dissolve the rocks. Israeli official Ze’ev Rosenburg claims the digs are only to conserve tunnels leading to the Wailing Wall.
1995
Jan. 16: A group of Jewish settlers attempts to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque but is prevented by Israeli police.
Jan. 31: With the beginning of Ramadan, Israel intensifies its police in Jerusalem, mainly around Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 12: In violation of international law, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announces plans to uncover the ruins of the “Solomon Temple”, supposedly located under Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 25: Israeli special police units are deployed inside Haram Ash-Sharif compound among Muslim worshippers attending services marking the end of Ramadan.
March 9: A hole discovered at the north wall of the Ummariyah School (Via Dolorosa) turns out to be part of a 500m long tunnel which begins at the Western Wall and is planned to lead to Lion’s Gate.
March: The Higher Islamic Council warns that Al-Aqsa Mosque may collapse due to Israeli digging below it.
April 24: Right-wing Jews – dressed as tourists – try to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque but are identified and prevented by Waqf guards.
May 4: Islamic Higher Council decides to close Haram Ash-Sharif Compound to tourists until further notice after Jewish extremists tried to enter the compound.
May 28: Al-Aqsa Mosque Guards are forced to shut the gates to the compound after a number of Zionists tried to enter the compound to pray.
May: UNESCO files a formal protest with the Israeli authorities about the excavations in the Old City, incl. the digging under Al-Aqsa Mosque.
June 15: Five female right-wing Jews are arrested when they start to pray near Lion’s Gate after failing to enter Al-Aqsa compound.
July 10: Eight Jewish extremists try to enter Al-Aqsa compound but are prevented by Mosque guards.
July 25: The Israeli High Court of Justice issues a ruling allowing Jews to pray at the “Temple Mount”.
Aug. 1: In a letter to the Waqf, the extremist Jewish group Hai Vakayam warns not to deny Jews entry to Al-Aqsa compound for prayer.
Aug. 3: Israeli High Court of Justice reverses 28 years of policy, permitting extremist Jews to enter Al-Aqsa compound for prayer on Aug. 5/6.
-Clashes break out between Palestinians and some 150 Jewish settlers who try to raid Al-Aqsa.
Aug. 5: Moslems camp overnight at the Haram compound to prevent Jewish extremists from entering Al Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 5/6: A small group of Jews is allowed to enter Al-Aqsa area on the night of the 5th (Jewish holiday commemorating Second Temple’s destruction). For fear of clashes, no Jew is allowed in on the 6th.
Aug. 6: Israeli security forces seal off Al-Haram Ash-Sharif after dozens of Israeli Jews tried to force their way into the compound.
Aug. 8: PM Rabin rejects a proposal of the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs Shimon Shetreet, asking to allow Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa along an agreement as applied at Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque.
Aug. 20: Nine members of the extremist Hai Vakayam group are detained as they try to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound for prayer.
Aug. 23 : Six members of the extremist Hai Vakayam group are arrested after an attempt to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound for prayer.
Sept. 16: The Muslim High Court releases a statement expressing the fear that Israel in connivance with radical settlers, may try to overtake authority over the Haram compound.
Sept. 20: Despite huge protest, Israeli police chief Rubin allows 20 right-wing Jews to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound where they, protected by police, announce that they soon would enter Al-Aqsa Mosque itself.
Oct. 10: After the Israeli High Court decided to allow Jews access to Al-Aqsa compound for the feast of the Tabernacles, Jewish extremists parade through the Old City with Israeli flags, chanting anti-Arab slogans.
Oct. 11: Jewish extremists try to enter Al-Aqsa compound from the Silsileh and Kattaneh Gates but are prevented by guards.
Nov. 23: 10 Jewish extremists try to raid Al-Aqsa but are prevented by guards they pray outside the mosque’s gates were Israeli police arrest them.
Dec. 18: Israeli police arrest 11 Jewish extremists trying to pray in Al Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 23: 10 Jewish extremists try to raid Al-Aqsa but are prevented by guards.
Dec. 30: Israeli police arrest right-wing Jew Eyal Kenan in the Old City in accord with a court order forbidding him to enter the Old City as his plans to attack Al Aqsa with anti-tank missiles were known.
1996
April 8: Some 90 Israeli settlers are allowed to enter the Al-Aqsa compound for Pessach prayers; 15 Jewish extremists are arrested when attempting to enter the compound forcefully.
July 18: An Israeli High Court ruling allows Israeli extremists to enter Al-Aqsa compound.
July 25: Extremist Jews enter the Dome of the Rock Mosque after an unprecedented Israeli High Court decision to allow the “Temple Mount Faithful” to observe the commemoration of the “Second Temple’s destruction”.
Sept. 24: Israel opens a large ancient tunnel beneath Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, sparking bloody clashes with Palestinians in the city and throughout the West Bank, which leave 70 Palestinians and 17 Israelis killed.
Sept. 25: In the wake of the news of the tunnel opening, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces break out in Jerusalem; Israeli forces attack protestors.
Sept. 27: Israeli soldiers invade Al-Aqsa compound, fire at worshippers, killing 3 and injuring 125.
Nov.: Israeli Archaeology Dept. excavates in the Golden gate area of the Old City on the pretext that they are looking for the Shoushana Gate which they believe to have been one of the gates of the Temple.
1997
Feb. 7: The last Friday of Ramadan, some 300,000 worshippers fill the Haram Al-Sharif compound, closely observed by 2,500 Israeli police.
March 10: The Netanyahu government announces its decision to allow Jews to use Al-Aqsa Mosque as a prayer site.
March 12: A letter issued by the legal advisor to PM Netanyahu that notes that Jewish prayer on the Al-Aqsa compound is not illegal raises concern among Waqf officials and other Paelstinians.
March 27: Two explosive devises are found in a drainage pipe near Al-Aqsa Mosque.
March: Waqf officials report new Israeli diggings under Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Oct. 20: Israeli police closed East Jerusalem streets for traffic while some 25,000 Jewish Israelis and their supporters hold their annual “Jerusalem March” to celebrate “united” Jerusalem. Some 100 members of the extremist Jewish group Temple Mount Faithful meet in “David’s Village” (Silwan) and dedicate the corner stone for the “Third Temple”. Later, they try to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque but are prevented by Israeli police.
Oct. 27: Israeli PM Netanyahu announces that he will discuss in his cabinet’s session the restoration works carried out by the Islamic Waqf in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing the renovation work as “unlicensed building”.
– Israeli Minister of Transportation, Yitzhak Levi, from the National Religious Party calls for allowing the Jews to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray there, and dividing the Mosque between Jews and Muslims, as is the case with the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
– Ma’ariv daily reveals details about plans by Jewish groups to build the claimed Temple in place of Al-Aqsa Mosque. These groups will start first by praying individually in the Al-Aqsa Mosque then in the form of groups to impose a de facto situation and build the Temple through waging bloody war in order to put an end to Arab and Islamic presence in Jerusalem.
– The Muslim guards of the Holy Mosque prevented Jewish extremists from the Hai and Vekayam movements to break into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 17: Nation of Islam leader Farrakhan cancels his visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem because of threats on his life made by Israeli right wing extremist.
Dec. 30: Israel’s police chief says Jewish extremists plotting new attacks on Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound in a bid to torpedo a planned troop withdrawal from the West Bank.
Dec.: Jewish extremists try to toss a pig’s head into the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
1998
Jan. 1998: Yediot Ahoronot reports that two Jewish extremists have been discovered planning to open fire on Palestinian worshippers taking part in the Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan.
March 1: A religious settlement east of Jerusalem agrees to establish a compound for raising children belonging to the class of ‘priests’ so that they will be able to sanctify the ground of the Temple Mount and thus enable the resumption of Jewish prayer at the holy site.
April 14: Twenty Jewish extremists are prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque by guards.
May 13: Israeli extremists set ablaze Bab Al-Ghawanmeh, one of the gates leading to Al-Aqsa compound,
May 14: Jordan holds Israel responsible for an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which it says seriously endangers the peace process. “The Israeli forces occupying the city of Jerusalem bear the responsibility for this aggression,” says acting Information Min. Nasser Al-Lawzi.
May 20: Israel’s Min. of Police orders renovations of a vault underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sometimes used for prayers to cease. Acting Head of the Higher Islamic Council Mohammad Nusseibeh says Israel had no right to order the work stopped.
July 12: Members of the extremist settler group Hay VeKayam, escorted by Israeli police, enter the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in what they refer to as a ‘first step’.
Aug. 25: Officials from the Higher Islamic Council, the PLC and foreign diplomats attend a sit-in at Al-Aqsa Mosque protesting the presence of Israeli soldiers inside the compound and their frequent attacks against Al-Aqsa guards and worshippers.
Oct. 7: Israeli police prevent Jewish extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful group from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to launch the reconstruction of the Third Jewish Temple. During the rally led by Gershon Solomon, the group boasts that “the Arab occupation of the Temple Mount is finished forever” and tries to unload a truck carrying a marble ‘cornerstone’ for the new temple.
Nov. 27: Israel is planning to spend $1.2m to fund security measures at Al-Aqsa mosque by setting up electric fences and cameras.
1999
Jan.: Israeli police detain members of the American sect ‘Concerned Christians’ when it learns about the group’s intentions on the eve of the year 2000 to commit suicide after having destroyed Al-Aqsa mosque and built a temple in its place.
March 30: Damyan Pakovitch, a Jewish immigrant from the former USSR, is found guilty of planning to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque by throwing a pig’s head onto the premises during Ramadan.
April 3: Jewish extremists groups request permission from the Israeli Govt. to renovate Ribat Al-Kurd, part of the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
April 4: The Israeli police allow over 20 extremists Jews to enter the Al-Aqsa compound to celebrate Pessach.
May 13: Israeli extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful group are blocked from entering the Orient House to protest the Israeli failure to close the building.
June 9: The Islamic Waqf indefinitely closes Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to tourists to protest attempts by Jewish extremists to pray at the site.
July 20: Ha’aretz reports that Israeli militants are raising funds to rebuild the Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The campaign is led by Yehuda Etzion, who was jailed in the 1980s for organizing attacks on Palestinians, and involves several right-wing religious groups.
July 21: Members of the extremist Temple Mount Faithful attempt to enter Haram Ash-Sharif compound and call for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque, provoking confrontations with Muslim worshippers.
July 22: Three Jewish extremists of the outlawed Kach group are arrested in the night after scuffling with Palestinians and throwing pamphlets on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque that call on Jews to “expel the strangers from the Temple Mount.” The day after the assault, the Waqf decides to close the Haram Ash-Sharif compound in protest.
Aug. 10: Israeli police prevent the expansion of a window opened up by the Waqf to provide light and air for basement rooms under the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The police interference sparks Muslim protests. (The extremist Temple Mount Faithful group has petitioned the High Court of Justice to immediately halt the ‘unlicensed’ construction work).
Aug. 11: The Arab League condemns Israel for closing a new window opened by the Waqf to provide light and air for basement rooms under the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Iran calls it a “Zionist attack on Islam’s holy sites”.
Aug. 19: The Temple Mount Faithful group petitions the Israeli High Court to oblige the state’s institutions to put an immediate stop to construction work by the Muslim Waqf next to the Hulda Gate, claiming that the aim is building mosques in the underground spaces there.
Sept. 26: The Israeli High Court rejects an appeal by the Temple Mount Faithful group for Jewish prayer services on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound after the head of the Jerusalem District police said such a permission would be met with violence.
Oct. 1: Ha’aretz reports that extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful intend to buy a three-dunum plot of land on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound, registered as family Waqf (Abu Saoud family) rather than as part of the general Waqf.
Oct. 3: In a speech inaugurating an archaeological site – ‘Hulda Gates’ – adjacent to the Al-Aqsa compound PM Barak says that Jerusalem will be a symbol of coexistence, adding “under Israeli sovereignty”, which was not included in the original text handed out earlier to journalists. WJM Mayor Ehud Olmert states on the same occasion: “The more we dig, the more we confirm what we have always known: that this city was our capital and center of life. It shall remain this way, one whole and unified city.”
Oct. 5: An Israeli court acquits Jewish extremist Avigdor Eskin of plotting to throw a pig’s head onto Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan prayers but convicts him of plotting to deface a Muslim grave with a pig’s head and plotting to burn down an Israeli peace group’s office.
Oct. 8: The Temple Mount Faithful has urged wealthy Jews from around the world to help seize a number of Arab houses in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and circulates a model drawing of the envisioned Temple to be build at the site of Al-Aqsa.
Nov. 17: The Islamic Higher Commission warns of the dangers of the Israeli plans to involve Al-Aqsa Mosque in the negotiations, while Jordan condemns Israeli statements over the idea of dividing Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a final solution over Jerusalem.
Dec. 6: While PM Barak threatens with firm measures if renovation works in the prayer site of Al-Musalah Al-Marawani (the old mosque under Al-Aqsa) continue without Israeli approval, PLC Speaker Ahmad Qrei’ warns that any Israeli interference in the construction of the emergency door will lead to a new wave of violence. Waqf director Adnan Husseini says the restoration work is a mere Islamic concern and meant to assure the safety of the worshippers.
Dec. 7: Israeli attorney general Elyakim Rubinstein ends the dispute over construction work on the Al-Aqsa compound, ruling that the WJM could not issue a stop-work order against the Islamic Waqf.
– Israeli police allows some members of the extremist Gershon Solomon group to enter the yards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 20: Israeli police install cameras at roads leading to the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 27-28: At night, around 3,000 extremist Jews from the ZuArzanu group demonstrate on the Mt. of Olives to demand Israel to impose its sovereignty on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif area.
2000
Jan. 25: The Israeli army prevents trucks with construction materials from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque-preventing renovation work from being undertaken.
Jan. 26: As Jewish extremists demonstrate near Al-Aqsa in protest at the renovation works there, Mufti Sabri reaffirms that Al-Aqsa Mosque is owned by Muslims only and that any outside intervention is rejected.
April 15: Al-Quds reports that the Israeli Min. of Religious Affairs plans to build a new tunnel under the Haram Ash-Sharif, strongly condemned by Waqf Dir. Adnan Husseini and the Mufti of Jerusalem.
April 23: Jewish extremists try to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque but are prevented by Palestinian guards.
May 29: In an attempt to force the Waqf to stop its restoration work of Al-Omari Mosque, Jewish settlers try to prevent Muslims from praying there.
June 1: The Temple Mount Faithful, led by Gershon Solomon, hold a protest march from Ammunition Hill to the gate of the Al-Aqsa compound.
June 19: Archeologists of the ‘Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount’ demand that PM Barak and Atty. Gen. Elyakim Rubinstein order an immediate halt to the construction work by the Waqf on the Al-Aqsa compound.
– Ma’ariv reports that 82 MKs, mayors, authors, and academics have signed a petition calling on PM Barak to stop the Waqf construction work near Al-Aqsa.
June 21: Israeli MKs visit the Haram Ash-Sharif to examine the restoration work carried out by the Waqf which they claim damages archaeological remains. Waqf Dir. Adnan Husseini, says the Israeli campaign is rather aimed at changing the fact that the Waqf has the authority over the Haram.
June 27: After Israeli Atty Gen. Elyakim Rubinstein and the Shin Bet recommend closing the gates of the Al-Aqsa compound to construction materials in order to prevent Jewish protests against the Waqf’s renovation work from escalating, Israeli police stop a truck carrying tiles.
June 28: PM Barak permits the Waqf to continue its tiling work on about 200 meters of the eastern wall of the Al-Aqsa compound but says archaeologists from the Antiquities Authority must be allowed onto the site to prevent the work from expanding.
– Temple Mount Faithful petition the Israeli High Court against the Israeli Govt., the Israeli Antiquities Authority, the Israeli police, WJM Mayor Olmert, the Islamic Movement and the Waqf, in order to force them to stop the ‘destruction’ of the archaeological remains at Haram Ash-Sharif. Several Israeli writers and former WJM Mayor Kollek have also sent a letter to PM Barak urging him to stop “any further construction on the Temple Mount.”
July 4: After deliberating on an appeal by leading Rabbis and officials to review the halachic injunction of 1967 that bars Jews from the Haram Ash-Sharif and gives the Waqf a special status over it, the Chief Rabbinate decides to maintain the status quo.
July 5: For the second time in a week Jewish extremists stage a provocative demonstration near Al-Aqsa Mosque to protest the restoration work carried out by the Islamic Waqf.
July 9: Ha’aretz reports that Chief Rabbis Bakshi-Doron and Lau oppose relinquishing Israeli control of Al-Aqsa Mosque, but leave open the possibility of a trilateral governing body consisting of Jews, Muslims and Christians.
July 11: The Israeli Chief Rabbinate clarifies its position on the Haram Ash-Sharif, reaffirming a long-standing halacha that forbids Jews from going there until the return of the Messiah, but stressing at the same time that Jewish sovereignty over the area cannot be relinquished.
July 23: Ma’ariv reports that Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi Eliahu Bakshi Doron has declared “Raising the Palestinian flag on the Temple Mount is absolutely forbidden. The holy places must remain under Israeli, Jewish sovereignty.”
July 25: Members of the outlawed extremist Kach group attempt to enter Al-Aqsa compound to place an Israeli flag there but are prevented by Waqf authorities.
Aug. 2: Jewish extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful group attempt to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray there.
Aug. 5: The Council of Rabbis discusses a proposal to build a synagogue within the perimeters of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 10: Palestinian protestors clash with Jewish extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful who try to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
Aug. 21: Palestinians commemorate the 1969 Al-Aqsa arson by marching from Orient House to Al-Aqsa Mosque, where clashes erupt between Waqf guards and Israeli police.
Aug. 22: Over 800 Muslims and Christians march to Al-Aqsa Mosque to stress their will to protect Al-Aqsa and other holy shrines in the city; Israeli police respond violently and inure numerous of the demonstrators.
Sept. 6: Ha’aretz reports that the committee appointed by the Chief Rabbinate Council to examine the idea of building a synagogue on the Temple Mount met for the first time; committee members are Rabbis Shaar Yishuv Hacohen, Shmuel Eliyahu, Yehuda Deri, Shlomo Chelouche, Yosef Gliksburg and Moshe Rauchberger.
Sept. 7: The Waqf complains that Israeli forces have blocked building materials from reaching al-Aqsa Mosque for 5 days now.
Sept. 10: On Israel Radio, Barak says that no Israeli PM “would ever be able to sign a document giving sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians.”
Sept. 12: Israeli acting FM Shlomo Ben Ami rules out the possibility of reaching a peace package within one month and suggests giving the PA autonomy over Al-Aqsa; meanwhile MK Yossi Beilin suggests giving Al-Aqsa an embassy status.
Sept. 13: PA Min. of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo warns that Israel is planting the seeds of a religious war through its claims over Al-Aqsa saying that Israel is playing with fire by denying the rights of other religions including the rights of over 1.25 billion Muslims.
Sept. 18: Speaking to the cabinet, PM Barak says that Israel opposes not only the transfer of sovereignty over the ‘Temple Mount’ to the PA but completely rules out the possibility of transferring sovereignty over it to any Islamic body whatsoever as well.
Sept. 27: Likud Chairman Ariel Sharon invites the entire Likud faction to his planned tour tomorrow of the ‘Temple Mount.’ Israeli police inform Waqf officials that Sharon has requested to visit the ‘Temple Mount’ the next day; the Waqf warns that such a visit would be viewed as a political provocation and spark violence.
Sept. 28: In the early morning, Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon makes a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under maximum security and with thousands of forces deployed in and around the Old City to prevent any clashes with Palestinians, which were nevertheless triggered by the visit and left dozens of Palestinians injured.
Sept. 29: After Friday prayers, Israeli forces use excessive force including teargas and gunfire against Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque from rooftops and other locations around the compound. Ensuing clashes leave five Palestinians dead and over 200 injured. Israeli forces deny ambulances entry to the compound and install makeshift checkpoints outside Palestinian hospitals. The incident soon sparks a widespread uprising in the WBGS (“Intifada 2000”), inside Israel and the Arab World.
Oct. 6: Anticipating protests following Friday prayers, Israel closes the WBGS, allows plainclothes PA police to deploy in the Haram Ash-Sharif to form a cordon to prevent Palestinians from throwing stones. They and Waqf staff successfully succeed in keeping calm, but when a few Palestinians throw rocks, Israeli forces open immediately fire, killing two worshippers and wounding 60.
Oct. 15: Extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful try to march towards and enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, but are prevented by Israeli police.
Oct. 20: Palestinians under the age of 45 are barred from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second consecutive Friday.
Oct. 27: Palestinians under the age of 45 are barred from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for the third Friday in a row.
Nov. 17: Israel again bars Palestinians under age 45 from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Nov. 24: For the 7th week in a row, Israel bars Palestinians under 45 from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 1: Only some 20,000 Palestinians pray on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Al-Aqsa Mosque while an estimated one quarter of a million others are prevented from entering Jerusalem.
Dec. 7: Israeli police announces that only Jerusalem residents and Muslims with Israeli citizenship would be allowed to enter the Al-Aqsa compound for the Friday prayers the next day,
Dec. 22: Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli police after hundreds of young men are barred from the Friday prayers as Israeli Police restricted access to those aged 45 and above.
Dec. 25: Israel’s two chief rabbis demand that the ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram Ash-Sharif) remain under Israeli control, stating that “no one has the right to give away the site of the Holy Temple … the Temple Mount is the basis on which rests our right to the entire land.”
Dec. 27: Israeli police repulses attempts by over 200 Temple Mount Faithful to enter the Al-Aqsa compound in order to lay a cornerstone for the building of the ‘Third Temple.’ Seven members of are arrested. The compound has been closed to non-Muslims since Sharon’s controversial visit on 28 Sept. 2000.
Dec. 28: The Israeli Government votes 10-2 to accept the US peace proposals as a basis for further negotiations, but with reservations, especially objecting to the clause in the US proposals granting the Palestinians sovereignty over the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound.
2001
Jan. 4: PM Barak rejects a recommendation by his security services to allow Jews to visit the ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram Ash-Sharif).
Jan. 6: Faisal Husseini denounces proposals by Gilead Sher to place Haram Ash-Sharif under a third party’s sovereignty, stressing the Palestinian demand for sovereignty over the whole of East Jerusalem.
Jan. 7: Israeli Min. Michael Melchior says there is a serious threat that Jewish extremists might try to destroy the Haram Ash-Sharif, saying “There is nothing more sensitive than the Temple Mount. It can be the gate to heaven, but it can also be the gate to hell.”
– Two former security officers send a public letter to Barak warning of security threats to the Temple Mount by extremist, messianic groups. They state “Exhortations to destroy the mosques and take vengeance for the murder of Binyamin Kahane [make] the [Haram Ash-Sharif and other Islamic sites] prime targets for attacks by Jews.”
Jan. 8: Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem, issues a fatwa or religious edict forbidding non-Muslims from controlling the holy site of the Al-Aqsa compound: “Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, including the ground the mosques are built on, that beneath them, as well as the space above them, are all (belonging to) the Islamic Waqf and cannot be controlled by non-Muslims.”
Jan. 14: Islamic Waqf official Sheikh Yousef Salameh denounces the desecration of the Holy Qur’an during an Israeli right-wing demonstration a day earlier, during which a copy of the Qu’ran was placed of a donkey along with pictures of Arafat.
Jan. 15: Ma’ariv reports that Israeli police reinforced security measures around Haram Ash-Sharif, for fear of possible attacks by members of the Jewish extreme right.
Jan. 18: PM Barak reaffirms that he will not sign a peace agreement that places Al-Aqsa Mosque under Palestinian sovereignty.
Jan. 21: PM Barak orders the police to halt excavation work by the Waqf at Haram Ash-Sharif.
Jan. 24: The Temple Mount Faithful petition the Israeli High Court of Justice, demanding punishment of those undertaking alleged illegal construction on the Haram Ash-Sharif.
Feb. 7: Sharon prays at the Western Wall, vows to keep Jerusalem under Israeli control: “I am visiting Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3.000 years and the united and indivisible capital of Israel – with the Temple Mount at its center – for all eternity.”
April 4: The Gluska Commission, appointed by former PM Barak, recommends the Israeli govt. work “secretly” to reinforce Jordan’s role on the Haram Ash-Sharif, mainly to prevent further construction or digging by the Waqf and to put an end to PA violations and “incitement”.
April 5: The Israeli High Court of Justice rejects a petition by the Temple Mount Faithful, asking to be allowed to pray on the Haram Ash-Sharif on Passover, to avoid more bloodshed. (The compound is closed to non-Muslims since the beginning of the Intifada).
– Israeli PM Sharon expresses his support of “visits by members of all faiths to the Temple Mount,” and asks security officials to find a way to realize this.
April 8: Referring to PM Sharon’s recent comments to allow Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic Higher Committee warns Israel to stop desecrating Islamic Holy Places and stresses that only Waqf has the right to supervise any matters pertaining to the compound.
April 9: UNESCO says it will send a special envoy, Prof. Oleg Grabar, as requested by Israel to investigate the reports of Waqf construction work on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
April 10: The Temple Mount Faithful try to the Al-Aqsa compound but are prevented by Israeli police.
April 18: Israeli PM Sharon meets with security officials to discuss the possibility of letting Israeli visitors and tourists back on the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
– The Israeli Antiquities Authority opens a virtual reconstruction center, illustrating visitors how the Temple looked 2000 years ago.
April 19: Israel postpones the planned visit by the UNESCO special envoy to investigate Waqf construction at Al-Aqsa, as Israeli officials consider such a mission unwise given that the UN does not consider Jerusalem to be under Israeli sovereignty.
April 20: After Friday prayers, 100 Israeli policemen enter the Haram Ash-Sharif compound to disperse Palestinian stone throwers.
July 28-29: Palestinian inhabitants in and around Jerusalem march towards Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent possible attacks by Jewish extremists who announced their coming to commemorate the destruction of the ‘Temple’. Temple Mount Faithful members approaching Haram Ash-Sharif compound to lay a cornerstone for the 3rd Temple are blocked by Israeli police but clashes ensue and Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque, injuring 70 Palestinians and arresting 30 in the ensuing clashes.
Sept. 14: Israeli forces arrest Mufti Sheikh Ekrima Sabri and interrogate him at the Russian Compound Detention Center for four hours about his recent participation in an Intifada conference in Beirut, where he also met with Hizbullah Sec.-Gen. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, and about his Friday sermon in which he was quoted as saying that “Al-Aqsa is for Muslims only and therefore Jews have no right to enter it”.
Sept. 14: Some 10,000 Palestinians go to Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for the Friday prayers, where tight Israeli security prevented those aged under 40 or without an Israeli identity card from entering.
2002
March 29: Israeli police storm Al-Haram Ash-Sharif after Friday prayers, throwing stun grenades at Palestinians, who retaliate by throwing stones.
April 12: The Israeli police limits the age of those Muslims permitted to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for the Friday prayer to 40 and above; 1,500 members of the Israeli security forces guard the vicinity and the small number of worshippers – approximately 9,000 in total – who are granted access.
May 25: On Channel 2 TV, Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy says, “We are making every effort, in our own quiet way, to reopen the Temple Mount to Jews again.” Al-Haram Ash-Sharif was closed to non-Muslims soon after the outbreak of the Intifada. The Waqf remains opposed to any plans to reopen it.
July 17: The Israeli High Court of Justice rejects a petition by the Temple Mount Faithful in which the group asks to be allowed to pray on the ‘Temple Mount’ during the Tisha B’Av fast [commemorating the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple], which begins in the evening.
Aug. 8: During the night, MK Michael Kleiner is permitted by police to enter for a brief period Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, 22 months after the site was declared off-limits to non-Muslims. Kleiner, who leads a group of demonstrators to the Western Wall, states: “The Temple Mount, the holiest site for Judaism, has been decreed Judenrein … this racial discrimination must stop.”
Aug. 27: WJM mayor Olmert calls on the Israeli Govt. to act to prevent the collapse of the southern part of the Western Wall, which has allegedly been rendered unsound by construction work being carried out by the Waqf.
Sept. 2: Herut MK Michael Kleiner petitions the High Court of Justice to be allowed to visit the ‘Temple Mount’ on 5 Sept., the second anniversary of the visit there of PM Sharon, which ignited the Intifada.
Sept. 4: The Israeli High Court bans Herut MK Michael Kleiner from visiting the ‘Temple Mount’ on the anniversary of Sharon’s Sept. 2000 visit. During the night, some 1,000 people demonstrate on Mt. Scopus to protest against the closing of the site to Jews.
Sept. 27: Male worshippers under the age of 40 are prevented by Israeli police from attending Friday prayers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif and are forced to pray on the street outside the Old City.
Sept. 30: Israeli Pres. Katsav says that Jews should not be allowed to visit the ‘Temple Mount’ until Israel reaches an agreement with the Waqf.
Oct. 3: Jordan assigns a local firm – the Mehrab Bureau for Islamic Construction – to reconstruct the Salah Eddin Pulpit in Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was burned down in 1969, at a cost of $70,000 and within a year. The late King Hussein pledged to repair the pulpit.
Oct. 4: Following the Friday prayer and after being pelted with stones, Israeli police storm Al-Haram Ash-Sharif using stun grenades and teargas to disperse some 5,000 worshippers.
Oct. 7: After the reaching of an informal agreement between Israel and the Waqf whereby Jordanians were given responsibility for renovating Al-Aqsa’s southern wall, Jordanian engineers drill into the bulge in the wall, which is threatening to collapse, to take a sample for inspection.
Oct. 11: Some 200 Palestinian youths attempt to storm Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, but are repelled by border police as males under the age of 40 are banned from attending the Friday prayer.
Oct. 28: The Israeli police bars Waqf official Sheikh Bassam Abu Libdeh from visiting Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for six months claiming he is an agent of the PA Preventive Security Forces.Nov. 8: Jerusalem police arrest a Jew, wearing a keffiyeh, who tries to infiltrate prayers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, where some 150,000 Muslim worshippers hold the first Friday prayer of Ramadan. Over 2,000 Israeli police are deployed in the city as Palestinian worshippers are given free access to the site for the first time in months.
2003
Jan. 31: Ha’aretz reports about a recent campaign entitled “Temple Mount – Heart of the Nation,” launched by a group of Jewish Americans, airing messages on Israeli radio stations that call for strengthening the Jewish presence at the “Temple Mount.”
Feb. 27: WJM police chief Mickey Levy says that Jews would be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after the war on Iraq.
March 19: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reports that the Al-Aqsa Institute for the Renovation of Islamic Sites fears Israeli plans to transform parts of Al-Aqsa Mosque into a worshipping area for Jews, similar to the case of Hebron’s Al-Ibrahimi Mosque.
April 19: Israeli police turns back some 20 Temple Mount Faithful activists, led by Gershon Salomon, approaching Al-Mughrabi Gate of the Al-Aqsa Compund and calling on the govt. to open the “Temple Mount” to Jews.
April 20: The High Court of Justice hears a Temple Mount Faithful petition, demanding that Jews be allowed to pray at the “Temple Mount,” and saying it is racist to allow Arabs to pray at the site, while prohibiting Jews. (The Waqf has denied access to non-Muslims since Oct. 2000, when riots broke out following PM Sharon’s provocative visit ).
May 5: At a ceremony marking Israel’s 55th birthday, WJM police commander Micki Levy says “We are taking steps to open the Temple Mount to Jews,” hinting that contacts are underway with the Waqf and the PA.
May 14: Public Security Min. Tzachi Hanegbi says that with or without agreement, the “Temple Mount” would soon be opened to Jews for visits and prayers, saying “that is the right, the moral and the logical thing.”
May 15: In response to Public Security Min. Hanegbi’s comments a day earlier, Waqf director Adnan Husseini says that non-Muslims are not welcome on the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, telling Israel Radio that “The Arab standpoint, the Waqf standpoint, is that there is no change in the decision of not allowing non-Muslims to enter the place.”
May 16: Israeli forces ban men under the age of 40 from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
May 17: Referring to Public Security Min. Hanegbi’s 14 May statement, Israeli Pres. Katsav tells Israel Radio that it would be unwise to allow Jews to enter Temple Mount without the consent of the Muslims and the Waqf.
May 28: Ha’aretz reports that architect Gideon Harla has designed plans to build a synagogue on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif next to the Dome of the Rock at an estimated cost of over $3 million. mosque.
May 30: Ha’aretz reports that the Yesha Rabbi Council has issued a statement calling for the establishment of Israeli sovereignty on the ‘Temple Mount’ and its opening to Jewish prayer, saying “The Temple Mount belongs solely to the Jewish people and there is no room on it for cooperation with strangers.”
July 4: Israeli riot police deny access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to men under the age of 40, in an alleged attempt to stop potential unrest in the Old City.
July 22: Israeli police protects groups of Jews allowed to perform religious rituals on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
July 24: Israeli police allows a group of 40 Jews, including members of the Temple Mount Faithful and Chai Vekayam, to enter and tour Al-Aqsa compound, while some additional 60 Jews are allowed to make “ordinary” visits to the compound.
July 25: Palestinians pray in the streets after Israeli police put up roadblocks in neighborhoods adjacent to the Old City and restrict access for Muslims under the age of 40 to Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
July 29:: Israeli police limits entry to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslims with Israeli ID cards over the age of 45.
July 30: After Israeli police suspend visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for non-Muslims, fearing Palestinian protests, right-wing MKs say they will organize daily rotation of MKs to visit the compound.
July 31: Israeli police removes three Jewish visitors belonging to the “Temple Mount Faithful” and the “Chai Vekayam” movement from Al-Aqsa compound, after they begin to pray and bow down. The incident occurred during a visit by activists led by Yehuda Etzion, the leader of Etzion.
Aug. 5-6: Right-wing MKs reiterate their plan to go to the ‘Temple Mount’ the next day, on the occasion of Tisha B’Av (traditional Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples), despite opposition from the police and pleas from Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and other ministers. Likud MKs Yehiel Hazan and Inbal Gavrieli meanwhile stress their determination to enter the compound, saying “Every Jew has the right to go to the Temple Mount,” and that due to their “parliamentary immunity, nobody can stop [them].”
– The High Court of Justice hears a petition by the Temple Mount Faithful against the police’s refusal to allow Jews to visit the Al-Aqsa compound, as they want to lay the cornerstone for the ‘third temple’ a day later at Tisha B’Av. The next day, the petition is turned down for security reasons.
Aug. 7: Israeli police prevents Likud MK Yehiel Hazan – head of the Yesha lobby in the Knesset – from entering the ‘Temple Mount’/Al-Aqsa compound due to “security considerations.”
– The Waqf publishes a statement in the local media, calling on Palestinians and Muslims in Israel to come to Jerusalem and “protect the Mount from attempts of Jewish extremists to force their way into the compound.”
Aug. 11: Waqf Dir. Adnan Husseini denounces as “an unnecessary provocation” the statement of Israel’s Public Security Min. Hanegbi that the “Temple Mount” would open to non-Muslims next week, even “unilaterally,” if the Waqf did not agree, adding that “the Waqf is the only authority.”
Aug. 20: After Israeli police allows non-Muslims to enter Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, some 350 Jewish and Christian tourists visit the compound for two hours.
Aug. 21: Israeli police close Al-Aqsa compound to non-Muslims after one hour of opening it to tourists and secular Israelis but not to religious Jews.
Aug. 23: The Islamic Movement in Israel organizes the “The Al-Aqsa Children Fund Festival” on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, to protest the reopening of the site to non-Muslims and to raise funds for activities in protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 24: Israeli police allows a group of about 40 Jews, incl. some extremist from the Temple Mount Faithful and the Chai Vekayam movement, to enter and tour Al-Aqsa Compound for some 90 minutes. Some additional 60 Jews are allowed to make “ordinary” visits to the compound.
Aug. 25: Muslim worshipers clash with Israeli policemen after trying to prevent Jewish visitors from entering the Al-Aqsa compound at the Mughrabi Gate during the new visiting hours for tourists.
Aug. 26: Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Haim Li-Ran refuses to order Waqf official Mustafa Abu Zahara away from Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for two months after he was arrested for preventing Jews from entering the compound.
Aug. 29: Israeli police limits entry to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslims with Israeli ID cards over the age of 45.
Aug. 31: Israeli police removes three Jewish visitors belonging to the Temple Mount Faithful and the Chai Vekayam movement from Al-Aqsa compound, after they begin to pray and bow down. The incident occurred during a visit by a activists led by Yehuda Etzion, the leader of. Etzion and two other members of the group were issued an order to keep away from the Temple Mount for the next 15 days.
Sept. 4: In reversion of a long-held halakhic rulings, the Yesha Rabbis Council, rabbis Dov Lior, Daniel Shiloh and Nahum Rabinowitz -issues a ruling, saying Jews can visit the Al-Aqsa compound because “the doubts have been removed” about the location of the original temples, so there was no more danger that the sancticity of the place was violated by treading on the wrong spot.
Sept. 12: Israeli police storm Al-Aqsa compound, firing tear gas and stun grenades at stone-throwing demonstrators protesting Israel’s decision to “in principle” expel Pres. Arafat.
Sept. 26: Israeli police bans men under 40 from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Friday prayers, citing fear for possible clashes.
Oct. 12: Hundreds of religious Jews are allowed to visit the Al-Aqsa Compound in groups accompanied by Waqf officials and police.
Oct. 13: Israeli police prevents the Temple Mount Faithful to hold a Sukkoth ceremony on Al-Haram Ash-Sharif
Nov. 10: Israeli police arrest Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, Chief Islamic Judge in the West Bank, while on his way to perform night prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Nov. 14: The Israeli army prevents men under 45 years and women under 35 years from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
2004
Feb. 3: Israeli archaeologists complain about alleged excavation work at the Al-Aqsa compound, saying that the work, which is not being supervised by the Waqf, endangers the remains of the Second Temple.
Feb. 13: The Israeli Police imposes tight restrictions on worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, forbidding men under 45 from attending Friday prayers.
Feb. 15: After inspecting the site near the Western Wall where an embankment collapsed a day earlier, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar calls for an investigation of the compound’s stability.
Feb. 25: The Islamic Waqf decides to close the area to tourists (valid until 26 April 2003), when the Israeli police made a unilateral decision – despite the Waqf’s opposition – to reverse the decision. Since then, tourists and Jews can enter through the Mughrabi Gate (under Israeli police protection).
Feb. 27: Israeli border police storm the Al-Aqsa compound after Palestinian youths throw stones at them; several Palestinians are injured in the ensuing clashes.
March 8: The Temple Mount Faithful petitions the High Court of Justice to order the Israel Antiquities Authority to supervise the construction work taking place at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif and to prevent the damaging and stealing of antiques.
March 26: WJM Police prevent men over the age of 45 from attending prayers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif and beefs up the police presence in and around the Old City.
April 2: Israeli police officers storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to disperse stone-throwing Palestinians.
April 5: Members of the Temple Mount Faithful hold a sheep slaughtering ceremony for Passover on the Mt. of Olives after police reject their request to hold it at the Al-Aqsa compound.
April 9: Palestinian men under the age of 45 are forced to pray outside the Old City after being denied access to the area to attend Friday prayers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
April 16: The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed to male worshipers under the age of 45 due to ‘security fears.’
July 22: The Temple Mount Faithful petitions the Israeli High Court of Justice, asking to be given clearance to enter the Al-Aqsa compound for prayers later in the week to celebrate Tisha B’Av.
July 24: Speaking on Channel 2’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Israel’s Public Security Min. Tzachi Hanegbi warns that Jewish extremists could attack the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to provoke Muslims, stir up new violence, and thus ruin the disengagement plan.
July 27: WJM police chief Maj.-Gen. Ilan Franco bans Jewish visitors from entering the Al-Aqsa compound to mark Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the two temples, due to the fear that their presence could spark violent clashes. Some 30 Jewish extremists who nevertheless try to enter are turned back. The Temple Mount Faithful then holds a symbolic gathering near the compound’s Mughrabi Gate.
Aug. 7: Tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs attend a rally organized by the Islamic Movement at Al-Aqsa Mosque under the banner of ‘Al-Aqsa in Danger.’
Sept. 6: At the request of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, Israel’s High Court of Justice issues a temporary injunction prohibiting the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Public Security Min., and the PM from authorizing the Waqf to remove tons of soil from the Haram Ash-Sharif compound due to the Israeli assumption that it covers archaeological artifacts.
Sept. 21: Ha’aretz reports that a Jordanian delegation has presented plans for constructing a fifth minaret at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to the Israeli Police. Meanwhile, the rightwing Chai Vakayam movement sends letters to govt. agencies charging that the move is illegal as the Israeli Police is not authorized to make decisions concerning construction work at the compound.
Sept. 26: WJM officials say the number of Muslim worshippers allowed to enter the Haram Ash-Sharif compound during Ramadan may have to be limited because of an Israel Antiquities Authority warning that the Solomon’s Stables area might collapse under the weight of the expected hundreds of thousands of worshippers. Waqf and Jordanian experts rule out the possibility of a collapse, with Waqf Dir. Adnan Husseini saying the suggested measure is nothing but an Israeli attempt to deprive the Waqf of its limited control over the area.
Oct. 1: Male Palestinians under the age of 40 are kept out of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli police for ‘security reasons.’
Oct. 12: The Israeli High Court of Justice rejects a petition by the Temple Mount Faithful demanding a ban on the govt. and WJM authorizing the construction of another minaret at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 14: Israel lifts its threat to limit the number of Muslim worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan due to concerns relating to the risk of collapse in certain areas, saying there are plans to erect scaffolding and cordon off the areas involved.
Oct. 17: Israel’s security chiefs warn of the growing risk of an attack by Jewish extremists on Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a bid to halt PM Sharon’s withdrawal plans.
Dec. 14: The Al-Aqsa Institute, renovating Islamic sites, warns of Israeli intentions to remove or demolish the wall leading to the Al-Mughrabi Gate, next to the Western Wall which is considered part and parcel of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
2005
Feb. 22: Israeli police demands an additional NIS 61 million to counter threats of an attack on the Al-Aqsa compound in the wake of disengagement protests.
March 10: The Israeli right-wing Revava organization announces plans to bring 10,000 Jews to pray at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif and exercise their religious rights on the “Temple Mount.”
April 8: Amid fears that rallies will be held by Jewish ultra-nationalists near Al-Aqsa compound, Israeli police ban non-Muslims from the Haram Ash-Sharif, tighten security and only allow men aged 40 and above, with Israeli ID cards, to attend the prayers.
April 10: Israeli policemen arrest 31 Jewish extremists at the Western Wall, who tried to march towards the Haram Ash-Sharif, where some 10,000 Palestinians had gathered to prevent and protest the attempt.
May 16: WJM Police and the Shin Bet reveal that five Jews were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque to disrupt the disengagement plan. All five were released soon after.
July 30: Israeli authorities have installed 19 new cameras on the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 28: Yerushalaim reports that WJM mayor Uri Lupolianski has proposed a plan to transfer some East Jerusalem neighborhoods to the PA in exchange for complete Israeli control of the Old City, incl. Haram Ash-Sharif.
Sept. 29: An official with Israel’s Western Wall Heritage Foundation says Israel would soon open to the public an underground archaeological site near Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Nov. 23: OIC Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Ekmeleddin Igsanoglu expresses grave concern at the deteriorating conditions of religious and historical sites in Jerusalem, particularly due to Israeli excavations underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the wall of the Old City.
2006
March 27: Israeli authorities decide to close the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif to visitors due to warnings of planned attacks to coincide with the Israeli elections.
July 27: Israeli police prevent what they say is a Palestinian mass wedding at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and ban anyone under 45 to enter.
July 28: Israeli police use stun grenades to disperse hundreds of Palestinian youths trying to gain access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers and ending up praying in the streets outside the compound.
Oct. 9: MK Uri Ariel of the National Union Party visita Al-Haram Ash-Sharif saying that the time had come for Jews to stop praying at the Western Wall and begin praying “where they’re supposed to.”
Oct. 13: Hundreds of Palestinians riot to protest entry restrictions to Al-Haram Ash-Sharif for Friday prayers.
2007
Jan. 17: The Al-Aqsa Institution for the Reconstruction of the Islamic Sanctities reports a wide Israeli excavation campaign on the outer perimeter of the Haram Ash-Sharif.
Feb. 5: The Israeli govt. begins excavations on the Mughrabi Gate entrance to the Haram Ash-Sharif, leading to demonstrations in the Palestinian Territories and in the wider Muslim world.
Feb. 8: Taysir Al-Tamimi, Supreme Judge in Palestine, calls for a ‘day of outrage’ across the Muslim world on Friday in protest against the excavations carried out by the Israeli authorities near Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 9: Clashes break out in the Old City as Palestinian worshippers arrive for Friday prayers and protest against Israel’s ongoing excavations in the environs of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli forces impose a curfew on Palestinian neighborhoods as a “precautionary measure.”
Feb. 11: Israeli police forces arrest at least four Palestinian praying at the Mughrabi Gate near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 16: Thousands of Israeli forces are deployed around the entrances to the Haram Ash-Sharif, preventing worshippers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 21: Israeli police announce that the Haram Ash-Sharif is once again open for worshippers and tourists.
Feb. 23: Israeli authorities issue an order prohibiting Palestinian men under 45 years from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers.
April 9: A guard at Al-Aqsa Mosque is injured in a clash with Israeli policemen.
April 15: The guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque stop an attempt by Israeli extremists to hang the Ten Commandments on Al-Mughrabi Gate entrance to the Haram Ash-Sharif.
April 21: The Al-Aqsa Association for the Protection of Islamic Endowments accuses Jewish organizations of forging documents to illegally purchase Arab properties in the Old City of Jerusalem.
July 23: Some 300 Jewish extremists storm Al-Aqsa compound and perform suspicious religious rituals.
July 26: A controversial plan to build a bridge near the Western Wall, to the Mughrabi Gate near Al-Aqsa Mosque is approved. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Mohammad Hussein condemns what he calls an Israeli plot against Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 18: Israeli forces impose further regulations on the entry of Palestinian worshippers to Jerusalem for Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque: men from 16 to 50 and women from 16 to 45 must get prior permission from the Israeli authorities. Children under 16 can only enter Jerusalem with their parents, if their parents have permission.
Sept. 27: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem warns of dangerous intentions behind a move by Israelis to reopen a synagogue near the Al-Aqsa Mosque City, noting that the synagogue is located near Silsila Gate, 100 meters away from the Dome of the Rock.
Sept. 28: Israel deploys 4,000 police officers around the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the third Friday prayer of Ramadan. Crowds of worshippers, after being denied entrance to Jerusalem, attend prayers at Qalandia checkpoint.
Oct. 14: The Israeli Antiquities Authority announces its intention to resume excavations at Mughrabi Gate as a part of a controversial plan to build a bridge from the gate to Dung Gate, near the Western Wall.
Nov. 2: The Western Wall Heritage Foundation is planning an underground passage in Jerusalem’s Old City to link the reconstructed Ohel Yitzhak synagogue in the Muslim Quarter with the Western Wall tunnels in the Jewish Quarter, passing by 100 meters west of Al-Aqsa compound.
Nov. 28: Israeli Prime Minister Olmert said that Israel’s sovereignty over the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif was not up for discussion, adding that what occurred in Annapolis and Washington over the last two days had no bearing on the status of the holy site.
2008
Jan. 22: Under the protection of Israeli soldiers, a group of settlers push their way into Al-Aqsa compound and try to conduct religious practices there.
May 12: The Israeli Min. of Antiquities has reportedly been earmarked to receive NIS 3,5 millions to continue its excavation works near the Mughrabi Gate of the Old City.
June 1: For the second time in two years, religious-Zionist rabbis enter the Haram Ash-Sharif.
Aug. 16: Jewish extremist groups storm Al-Aqsa compound from Al-Mugrabi Gate.
Aug. 19: Israeli authorities install cameras at Lion’s Gate in a bid to further control the entry of worshippers to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 9: Ha’aretz reports that Israeli police restricts the entry to Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, banning men under 45 years and requesting married men aged 45-55 and women aged 30-45 to obtain a permit.
Sept. 21: The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reveals Israeli plans to open a synagogue on Wad Street near Hamam Al-Ein, close to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and connect it to a tunnel underneath it.
Oct. 9: Jewish settlers, Rabbis and Israeli politicians tour Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound protected by Israeli police.
Oct. 12: The “Ohel Yitzhak” synagogue is opened in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, located between the Cotton Merchants Gate and the Heavy Chain Gate, only 80 m from the Haram Ash-Sharif, creating outrage among Muslim, Christian and Greek Orthodox residents and religious officials, who set up an emergency meeting to condemn the move.
2009
Feb. 1: The floor of an UN‐affiliated school near Al‐Aqsa Mosque collapses due to Israeli excavation work under the Old City, injuring 17 Palestinian schoolchildren.
Feb. 9: Israel allows hundreds of tourists wearing “revealing clothes” into Al-Aqsa compound as a group of 30 Jewish extremists.
Feb. 27: Israeli police impose tight restrictions on entry to Jerusalem and on worship at the Al‐Aqsa Mosque, barring men under the age of 45 from prayer at the mosque.
March 4: Al-Quds quotes Al-Aqsa Foundation as reporting that Israel plans to open two new tunnels of 56 and 22 meters length to link the Old City’s Sharaf quarter with the square west of Al-Aqsa Mosque to protect settlers commuting between Silwan and the Old City.
March 11: Some 30 extremist Jews dressed up in a costumes storm Al-Aqsa compound to perform Jewish rituals at the site.
April 13: Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform prayers on the occasion of “Passover.” The Israeli police did not stop them but arrest Palestinians who come to protect Al-Aqsa.
April 15: Israeli settlers and right-wing groups announce plans to invade Al-Aqsa Mosque the next day, causing high tension in the city.
April 16: Dozens of Palestinians gather at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent members of the Chabad movement from entering it after they were asked “conquer and Judaize the holiest place on earth, which was being desecrated in such a disgraceful and shameful way.” Jerusalem residents under 50 are banned from entering the Mosque.
April 29: Israeli authorities announce a plan to build a synagogue over the Tankaziyya School next to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
June 23: Israeli Internal Security Min. Yitzhak Aharonovitch of the ultra right-wing Israel Beitenu Party enters Al-Aqsa compound under heavy guard and accompanied by Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen and Jerusalem District Police Chief Aharon Franco.
July 3: Israeli forces disguised as tourists enter the Haram Ash-Sharif and take photos of several sites in the compound.
July 23: Israeli police allows 45 far-right Israelis to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, marking Ninth of the month of Av on the Jewish calendar, which is observed in commemoration of the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temples.
July 30: Over 200 Jewish extremists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque and try to perform religious rituals.
Sept. 12: Israeli authorities begin excavations to build a tunnel heading from Silwan toward Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 17: At least 300,000 Palestinian worshippers attend Laylat Al-Qader at Al-Aqsa Mosque, believed to be the night of the year when the Prophet Mohammed received the first verses of the Qur’an from the Angel Gabriel. Throughout the month of Ramadan, Israeli forces have prevented Palestinians from reaching the Mosque and interrupted numerous cultural events.
Sept. 24: A special Israeli police unit enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour it.
Sept. 27: Dozens of Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces clash after a group of right-wing Jews enter Al-Aqsa compound ahead of Yom Kippur.
Oct. 4: Palestinians protesters clash with Israeli forces near the Old City’s Lion’s Gate, when Israeli forces attempted to evacuate and detain about 200 Muslim worshippers holed up in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 25: At least 30 Palestinians are injured and 20 arrested when clashes between Israeli forces and youth erupt anew in the Old City after Israeli forces raid the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Nov. 2: Palestinian security guards at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound stop an Israeli man with a machine gun attempting to reach the area using a ladder and hand him over to Israeli police.
Dec. 3: Head of the Islamic Higher Commission Sheikh Ekrima Sabri receives an order from Israeli intelligence barring him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months.
Dec. 15: The Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said that large-scale Israeli excavations were being done in the area adjacent to the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, known as the Umayyad Palaces area.
Dec. 17: The Al-Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage issues a statement warning of the repeated calls by extremist Jewish groups to collectively break into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, and to “practice their religious Jewish rituals related to the construction of the so-called third temple”.
2010
Jan. 18: Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, the PA’s chief Islamic judge, warns that the Al-Aqsa Mosque suffered from cracks in the walls as a result of Israel’s excavations below it.
Feb. 18: The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage reports that the Israeli authorities have started new excavations under the Old City of Jerusalem.
Feb. 21: A street collapses near the entrance of the Khan Az-Zeit market in the Old City due to Israeli excavations in the area.
Feb. 28: Israeli police enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, firing tear gas and rubber bullets after Palestinians had thrown stones at Jews touring the site.
March 5: Dozens of Palestinians are injured as Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following Friday prayers, firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades.
March 14: Jerusalem police deploys 2,500 policemen in East Jerusalem ahead of the dedication of the Hurva Synagogue, 330 m away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Palestinian officials call on Muslims to protect the Mosque from alleged Israeli attempts to replace it with a Jewish temple.
March 19: Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and raid several homes in the Old City, arresting dozens of Palestinians.
April 22: Israeli Interior Min. Eli Yishai issues a decree preventing Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from leaving the city, accusing him of incitement and claiming that his travel harmed the security of Israel.
May 17: Israel’s Interior Min. renews a military order banning Fateh Jerusalem Affairs official Hatem Abdel Qader from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for a further six months.
June 11: Israeli police ban access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to men under 40 years.
Aug. 27: Israeli police detain PLC member Sheikh Hamed Al-Betawi on his way to prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sept. 24: Israeli police restrict the entry of male worshippers to those 50 years and older.
Sept. 27: The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage says Israel is expanding the tunnel network under Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, digging on the northern and southern sides of the mosque, and extending digs to the west of the compound for more than 600 meters.
Sept. 29: Dozens of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli forces, enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as Jews mark the end of the Sukkot holiday.
Oct. 1: An Israeli court bans 12 Palestinians residents of Israel from the Al-Aqsa Mosque on suspicion that they were planning to carry out riots.
Oct. 5: Haaretz reports about WJM plans to break down part of the Old City walls to create a gate to accommodate Jewish worshippers near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 29: In a recent meeting, the UNESCO executive board has expressed “deep concern” over “ongoing Israeli excavations and archaeological works” at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City.
Nov. 9: The Israeli GLZ radio reports that City Plan no. 12472 (construction of the Mughrabi Ramp leading to the Al-Aqsa compound from the Wailing Wall Plaza has been finally approved, though in a limited version allowing the construction of a new bridge on pillars, with minimum amount of diggings and change of the ground surface.
Dec. 2: Israeli forces close all but two doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque and forbid entry to people under 40 years, while an estimated 55 Jewish extremists, accompanied by Israeli guards, invade the compound for Hanukkah rituals, causing high tension.
2011
Jan. 25: Israeli archaeologists have finished work on a controversial tunnel running from a site close to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Feb. 4: Israeli police restrict entry to Friday prayers at Al-Haram Ash-Sharif to worshippers above the age of 50.
Feb. 11: Israeli forces prevent Palestinian youths from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Friday prayer.
March 3: The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage says Israel was “accelerating their steps to destroy the area of Umayyad palaces” near the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque and is “carrying out excavations in the area at night, especially in one of the water wells in the area, which extends under Al-Aqsa Mosque and are covered with tents and plastic sheets”.
March 6: Israel has given preliminary approval for renovations of the ramp near the Mughrabi Gate.
March 22: Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and detain five worshipers.
May 13: Scores of Palestinians perform dawn prayers outside the Old City after being prevented by Israeli police from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque.
June 1: Israeli police allow extremist Jewish groups into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as part of celebrations marking the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
July 1: Israeli police limit access to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Muslim men under the age of 45.
Aug. 5: Ahead of the first Friday prayers during Ramadan, Israeli police limit access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Muslim men over 45 and deploy over 2,000 forces in the city.
Aug. 7: Israeli police forcibly remove worshippers from the Haram Ash-Sharif compound.
Sept. 18: Religious and right-wing Israelis enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 3: Israeli police accompanying Israeli visitors arrest four Palestinian worshippers blocking the entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 7: Israel limits access to Al-Aqsa Mosque to Jerusalemite men over the age of 45 for fear of violence during the prayer a day ahead of Yom Kippur.
Nov. 3: Jordan condemns an Israeli plan to demolish the Mughrabi access ramp to Al-Aqsa Mosque with Waqf and Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Salam Abbadi stating: “Jerusalem’s [Waqf] administration is the party with legal custody and sovereignty over Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Israel has no right to replace the bridge unilaterally.”
Nov. 26: Prime Minister Netanyahu delays the demolition of the wooden Mughrabi access ramp to avoid enraging Muslims.
Dec. 11: Israel closes the wooden Mughrabi access ramp leading to Al-Aqsa mosque compound over public safety fears, sparking a war of words with Jordan and the Palestinians, who denounce it as an act of “aggression” against the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 13: WJM Council member Sasson Gabai calls for the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque to all Muslim worshippers in an attempt to pressure Muslims into accepting the demolition of the bridge of the historic Al-Mughrabi Gate.
Dec. 21: Israeli forces impose strict security and military measures on Jerusalem, especially the Old City, amidst calls by extremist Jewish groups to invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to celebrate Hanukkah.
Dec. 26: Groups of Jewish extremists enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour its yard under police protection.
2012
Jan. 8: The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage says Israeli soldiers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and behaved “aggressively”.
Feb. 12: Israeli police close access to the Al-Aqsa compound for fear of unrest after leaflets were distributed around the city by far right MK Moshe Feiglin calling for the removal of “Israel’s enemies” from the site.
Feb. 19: Israeli police arrested 13 Palestinians on the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex after police and tourists visiting the site were attacked with stones, a police spokesman said. (AFP)
Feb. 21: Eight Israelis and a group of tourists, escorted by over 40 Israeli soldiers, tour the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Later, another 22 Israeli women follow and clash with Palestinian female worshippers. Israeli forces detain three Palestinians. Afterwards, police blocks entry to people under 40 years of age.
Feb. 24: Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after the Friday noon prayers and clash with Palestinian youths, injuring at least 30 of them.
Feb. 28: Israeli police chief, Niso Shaham, continues a ban forbidding non-Muslims from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque site.
March 28: Some 100 Israeli soldiers took a tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Settlers also join the tour and hold provocative religious rituals.
April 9: Dozens of settlers, accompanied by Israeli police, enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform religious rituals in celebration of Passover.
April 11: Jewish extremists tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound accompanied by Israeli forces but are prevented from performing religious rites.
April 25: PA President Abbas says that visits to Al-Aqsa Mosque by high-level Arab personalities should not be seen as acceptance of Israel’s prolonged occupation and renews his call on Arabs and Muslims all over the world to visit Jerusalem.
May 18: Dozens of Jewish settlers invade the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and perform “religious rituals” amid tight security by the Israeli police.
May 28: A group of around 160 Israeli soldiers hoist a 3-m long Israeli flag inside the Al-Aqsa compound.
June 4: Israeli police arrest Najeh Bkeirat, head of the Manuscripts and Heritage Department at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and take him for interrogation.
June 25: Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage says that Israel’s Archeological Authority has demolished a historic Islamic sites dating back to the Umayyad, Abbasid and Ottoman eras over the last five years during excavations in the Al-Buraq area adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
– Israeli police allow 57 members of the Israeli navy and a MK to tour the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s yard.
July 23: Some 58 Jewish extremists tour the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound protected by 28 Israeli soldiers.
July 25: Israeli police raid the Al-Aqsa compound forcing worshippers performing late night prayers to leave and arresting the Imam leading the prayers. At the same time, 20 settlers are allowed to enter the site overnight accompanied by Israeli forces.
July 30: MK Zevulun Orlev calls for a law to rebuild the Third Temple in Jerusalem atop Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.
– Dozens of extremist settlers protected by police force their way into the Al-Aqsa courtyards, provoking Muslim worshippers.
Aug. 9: Right-wing MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union party) submits to the Knesset a draft bill that calls for allowing Jews freedom to worship in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on specific days, while Muslims would be free to worship at other days, a situation similar to the practice at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Aug. 12: Arye Eldad introduces a new bill to the Knesset which suggests dividing prayer times at the Al-Aqsa Mosque “for all three religions.”
– Israeli police ban a group of the Bnei Akiva youth movement from calling out “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” or hold up signs with the slogan during a demonstration they intended to hold to avoid incitement for the Arab public.
Sept. 6: Likud party member Moshe Feiglin, escorted by settlers and Israeli forces, enters the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform “Talmudic rituals”.
Sept. 12: More than 30 settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, roamed its yard under the protection of Israeli police, and performed Jewish rituals and prayers.
Sept. 18: Israeli authorities restrict access to Al-Aqsa Mosque to Palestinian worshippers under 45 years of age.
Sept. 19: The Islamic-Christian Commission in Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites condemns the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers wearing priestly garments and performing Talmudic rituals. The Commission warns that the excavation works around and beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque are aimed at building a temple on its ruins.
Sept. 25: Around 80 settlers enter Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and perform religious rituals, while Israeli forces ban Muslims under 45 years from entering.
Oct. 2: Escroted by Israeli police, over 100 Jews, including Likud MK Moshe Feiglin, enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform religious rituals, triggering clashes with Palestinian worshippers.
Oct. 4: Some 50 settlers enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque yards to perform religious rituals under Israeli police protection.
Oct. 5: Israeli forces close Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Palestinian worshipers from entering.
2013
Feb. 25: Israeli forces evacuate Muslim worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque when a group of some 40 Jewish worshipers enter the compound to perform Jewish prayers at the site.
– For the second day in a row, Israeli forces ban Palestinians aged under 45 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
March 3: Israeli authorities renew the order banning Sheikh Najih Bkeirat, director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from the Al-Aqsa compound for another six months.
March 25: A group of settlers enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and perform religious rituals under heavy Israeli guard.
– Sheikh Najih Bkeirat, director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, warns that Israel forces are tightening restrictions on the compound and have seized the keys to the Moroccan Gate to allow access to extremist Jewish settlers groups.
March 28: Accompanied by Israeli forces, over 170 Jewish right-wing extremists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through Al-Mughrabi Gate to worship during the Jewish holiday of Passover, while several young Muslims are forcibly banned or evicted from the compound.
March 29: Six Palestinians are injured by Israeli forces preventing worshipers from praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Thousands of Palestinians had to perform prayers in the streets outside Al-Aqsa compound
– Israeli police arrest Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during a visit by Jewish rightists.
March 30: Dozens of Jewish settlers enter Al-Aqsa compound from Al-Magharbeh Gate. Israeli forces arrest 10 Palestinians for throwing stones at groups of Jews visiting Al-Aqsa compound.
March 31: Jordan’s King Abdullah II signs an agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which reiterates Jordan’s role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem and that the King’s right to exert all legal efforts to preserve them, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque.
April 5: Israeli police limits men’s access to Al-Aqsa Mosque to Jerusalem ID card holders over the age of 50 and deploys reinforcements in Jerusalem, fearing protests at Al-Aqsa in the wake of a prisoner’s death.
– An Israeli special force unit wearing Palestinian scarves infiltrate Al-Issawiya and confront youth, injuring at least 12 of them.
April 16: Around 60 right-wing Israelis, accompanied by Israeli security forces, enter Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Mughrabi Gate and tour the compound.
May 7: As a group of around 40 Jewish settlers accompanied by police enter Al-Aqsa compound through the Mughrabi Gate and tour the site to commemorate the eve of “Jerusalem Day,” special Israeli forces stormed the compound and assaulted worshipers.
– Speaking to The Times of Israel news site, WJM mayor Bir Barkat says that Palestinians will never have sovereignty in the Holy City, suggesting that they rename Ramallah as “northern Jerusalem” instead. He added that it was in Jerusalem’s DNA to be under “sole Jewish rule” and pressure from the international community to stop building on occupied territory was “illegal.” With regard to Al-Aqsa he says it was “ridiculous” that Jews were not allowed to pray there and that he was uncomfortable with the status quo on the issue.
May 15: Nakba Day: Palestinian clash with Israeli forces at Al-Aqsa Moue and other places as dozens of Israeli right-wingers, escorted by Israeli soldiers, raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Moroccan gate.
May 16: Israeli police closes Al-Aqsa Mosque, banning non-Muslim visitors from the compound “to prevent incidents” following a security assessment over the last 24 to 48 hours.
May 17: After Israel granted access to right-wingers at Al-Aqsa compound, Palestinians stage protests in the Old City calling for the protection of Al-Aqsa.
May 27:Israeli security forces and right-wing Jews tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound accompanied by intelligence officials.
May 28: Two Israeli officers raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in an attempt to disrupt restorations inside the mosque, also detaining a guard.
June 7: Israel bans 25 Al-Aqsa compound guards from the vicinity of the mosque for varying periods of time for trying to stop rightists from entering the compound.
July 4: Addressing a right-wing conference in the West Bank, Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Likud Beiteinu) calls for the rebuilding of the Temple on Al-Aqsa compound, stating: “We’ve built many little, little temples but we need to build a real Temple on the Temple Mount.”
July 10: Some 100 extremist Jews, escorted by Israeli police, enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through Al-Mughrabi Gate, later leaving through the Chain Gate chanting anti-Arab slogans.
July 11: Over 130 Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound taunting Palestinian worshippers and chanting “Al-Aqsa will be destroyed,” “The temple is coming soon,” and “Soon Al-Aqsa will be in our hands,” as they tour the compound.
July 12: Tens of thousands of Palestinians perform prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, although Israel limited entry by men to those over 40 years of age.
July 14: At least 180 Israelis, including 18 Rabbi’s, enter Al-Aqsa compound through Al-Mughrabi Gate and tour the area under Israeli police guard, protested by Palestinian worshippers.
July 15: Dozens of Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound under armed guard and tour the site.
July 16: Due to pressure from Jordan after a series of provocative visits of Israeli rightists of the Al-Aqsa compound, Israeli police closed Al-Mughrabi Gate leading to the compound.
July 17: Palestinian worshipers and guards confront Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin during a visit to Al-Aqsa compound, accompanied by a group of settlers and armed Israeli forces. Soon afterwards a group of 50 settlers enters the area, including Likud official Yehuda Glick.
July 19: An estimated 155,000 Muslims worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the second Friday of Ramadan, with more than 3,000 Israeli police deployed in the Old City. Some 200 buses of worshipers arrived at the mosque from around Israel.
July 22: After detaining and interrogating her for hours, Israeli police bans female teacher Um Radwan for three months from Al-Aqsa Mosque, where she leads guided tours for students.
July 26: Tens of thousands of worshipers head to Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first Friday prayers of this year’s Ramadan.
July 28: On the Jewish holy day of Tisha b’Av, Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin (Likud) Elkin tries to visit Al-Aqsa compound together with right-wing MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli (Bayit Yehudi), and a large group of activists but is prevented by Israeli security.
July 29: Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin (Likud) tours Al-Aqsa compound accompanied by journalists.
Aug. 4: Israeli Army Radio reveals that the Israel government is providing funding for the well-financed far right-wing Temple Institute, which aims “to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, in accord with the Biblical commandments.”
Aug. 6: During an event hosted by the right-wing ‘Americans for a Safe Israel’, MK Moshe Feiglin reportedly promises that he “will not let Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu alone” until the issue of the right of Jews to pray on Al-Aqsa compound is taken care of. Earlier in the month, Feiglin had called on Jews to “flood the temple mount.”
Aug. 7: Jews demanding access to Al-Aqsa compound demonstrate in front of the Mughrabi Gate protesting, in part, the compound’s closure to Jews during the last two weeks of Ramadan.
Aug. 11: During a Knesset committee debate regarding the government’s policies on Al-Aqsa compound, the chair of the committee, MK Miri Regev (Likud) urged Israeli security officials to permit Jewish prayer on the “Temple Mount” during this year’s High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur).
Aug. 25: Around 65 Jewish extremists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, escorted by Israeli police, and tour the compound.
Aug. 29: Around 70 Jewish extremists, accompanied by Israeli forces, tour Al-Aqsa compound, entering also Al-Al-Qibli Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and Al-Marwani Mosque.
Sept. 3: Israeli forces raid the Bab Hutta neighborhood and detain 11 Palestinians for questioning on charges of incitement and throwing rocks. They are released on bail to house arrest and are banned from Al-Aqsa compound for 15 days. Four other Palestinians from the Old City are also arrested while three others are handed subpoenas to visit Israeli police.
– Israeli forces arrest Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah on his way to Jerusalem to attend a press conference marking a day of pilgrimage to Al-Aqsa Mosque the next day.
Sept. 4: Palestinians clash with Israeli forces after Jewish rightists enter Al-Aqsa compound. Israeli police use pepper spray, arrest several worshippers, close all gates leading to the mosque and prevent worshipers under 50 from entering.
– Israeli police prevents some 16 busloads of Muslim worshipers from reaching Al-Aqsa compound amid fears of unrest at the site.
Sept. 6: Palestinian youths and Israeli police clash at Al-Aqsa Mosque; at least 15 Palestinians are arrested and over 50 injured.
Sept. 10: Dozens of Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy police guard, touring the area and performing religious rituals. Head of the Islamic Higher Commission, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, warns that incursions by Jewish extremists confirm Israeli ambitions to create a situation like in Hebron, while the PA Foreign Ministry condemn the ongoing provocations.
Sept. 11: Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home Party tours Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy Israeli police guard, heading a tour group of some 100 right-wing Jews.
Sept. 22: Over 300 Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa compound in four groups via the Mughrabi Gate under heavy armed guard and tour the area.
Sept. 23: Some 150 Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa compound in separate groups under armed guard and perform religious rituals in the area.
Sept. 24: Israeli police close Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to non-Muslim visitors, citing security concerns.
Sept. 25: Israeli forces evacuate Al-Aqsa compound, including schools, prevent Palestinian worshipers from entering, and raid the area, injuring several Palestinian worshipers.
Sept. 26: Some 26 Israeli rightists escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in small groups via Al-Mughrabi Gate and are met by angry Palestiniian worshippers.
Sept. 27: Israeli police ban Muslims under the age of 50 from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers.
Oct. 8: Dozens of Israeli forces including a group of 80 female soldiers, over 30 Israeli intelligence officers, and six rightist Israelis enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, listen to a lecture and visit the site.
Oct. 10: Jewish groups enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through Al-Mughrabi Gate and perform religious rituals.
Oct. 24: Israeli rightists tour Al-Aqsa compound escorted by Israeli police. One Jewish extremist, recently been banned from entering the compound, tries to enter the area to pray, but is stopped by Israeli forces.
Oct. 29: Around 63 Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa compound under armed guard and tour the compound in three groups.
Nov. 1: The Habayit Hayehudi faction together with the Religious Services Ministry promoted a legislation in the Knesset which would allow Jews to openly pray on the “Temple Mount,” for the first time since the site was liberated in 1967.
Nov. 6: Arab-Israeli MKs are expelled from a Knesset meeting discussing plans to allow Jews to pray in the Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound, which they protested as a desecration of an Islamic holy site.
Nov. 13: Israeli forces and right-wingers enter Al-Aqsa Mosque and tour the compound.
Nov. 17: Escorted by 33 Israeli intelligence officers over 70 Jewish right-wingers enter Al-Aqsa compound, led by the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund Yehuda Glick, who was allowed to enter the compound after serving only one month of a 6-month ban to do so.
Nov. 19: Around 80 Israeli security forces enter Al-Aqsa compound and toured the area.
Nov. 24: Israeli police detains two female Palestinian teachers upon entering Al-Aqsa compound where they lecture.
– Over 17 Jewish extremists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Moroccan Gate, and toured the compound.
Dec. 1: Israeli forces escort 26 Jews onto Al-Aqsa compound to perform religious rituals near the Golden Gate in order to mark the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, assaulting a number of Palestinian worshipers which triggered clashes.
– In a separate incident, 35 members of Israeli intelligence, escorted by police, enter Al-Aqsa compound from Al-Silsila Gate.
– Another group of 50 Jewish right-wingers also tours the site.
Dec. 4: An Israeli group led by Rabbi Yehuda Glick, Chair of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, enter the Al-Aqsa compound escorted by police, setting off provocative fireworks amidst Palestinian worshippers, whose identity cards are checked at the gates.
Dec. 6: Israeli police storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and fire tear gas grenades towards worshippers.
Dec. 8: Israeli authorities install surveillance cameras inside the Al-Aqsa compound to monitor Waqf officials and worshippers.
Dec. 10: Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reports that Israeli authorities have started new excavations under the Al-Aqsa compound, specifically under the Chain Gate on the western side.
Dec. 18: In its capacity as custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, Jordan demands that Israel remove surveillance cameras at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
2014
Jan. 5: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces tour Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jan. 6: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site, trying to perform religious rituals.
Jan. 7: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site.
Jan. 8: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site.
Jan. 9: A group of over 50 newly recruited Israeli soldiers tour Al-Aqsa Mosque, escorted by Israeli police officers.
– A group of 17 rightist Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound, led by extremist lawyer Yehuda Glick.
– A group of Israeli intelligence officers tour Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jan. 12: Israeli archaeological teams have started new excavations near the Silwan tunnel, which runs from Al-Aqsa Mosque to Silwan as part of the Israeli project to build a biblical park in the area.
– Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site.
Jan. 14: A group of around 25 right-wing Israelis led by US-born Jewish extremist Yehuda Glick tour Al-Aqsa compound, while, Palestinian guide Ehab Al-Jallad is detained by Israeli police while touring the compound with a group of students.
Jan. 20: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site.
Jan. 21: A group of 33 Israeli rightists led by extremist leader Yehuda Glick and accompanied by Israeli forces tour Al-Aqsa compound. Another 13 Israelis also roam around the compound.
Jan. 29: Israeli settlers escorted by the Israeli forces tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and try to raise the Israeli flag at the site.
Feb. 4: Around 30 Israeli intelligence officers enter Al-Aqsa, tour the compound and raid the Dome of the Rock.
– A group of 17 Israelis enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under armed guard.
Feb. 7: After Friday prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, at least 18 Palestinians worshipers are injured in clashes with Israeli forces, who raid the compound and fire tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.
Feb. 11: Right-wing Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel tours Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under armed guard and accompanied by 27 rightist settlers.
Feb. 19: Right-wing MK Moshe Feiglin, escorted by Israeli police, enters Al-Aqsa compound through Al-Mughrabi Gate and tours the site. Feiglin had initiated a Knesset debate, calling for full Israeli sovereignty over the compound.
Feb. 22: Israeli police detain six Palestinians from Jerusalem as they leave Al-Aqsa Mosque, following clashes that were triggered by the visit of Israeli MK Moshe Feiglin three days earlier.
Feb. 23: Some 50 Palestinians spend the night inside Al-Aqsa compound in protest of an Israeli Knesset debate, scheduled for the next day, over a plan to place the holy site under full Israeli jurisdiction, and in reaction to reports that Israeli rightist organizations plan to raise Israeli flags inside the compound.
Feb. 25: Israeli troops and police raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and forcefully disperse Palestinian worshipers and protesters ahead of a Knesset debate on a plan to annex the compound.
– A Knesset debate called by right-wingers under MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) discusses for the first ever time whether Israel should wrest control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Jordan and calls for an end to forbidding Jewish prayer at the compound. In response, 47 Jordanian MPs sign a motion demanding the annulment of the 1994 Peace Treaty with Israel.
March 2: Over 40 settlers enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by a large number of Israeli police and led by the rightist lawyer Yehuda Glick.
March 4: An Israeli court sentences Islamic Movement in Israel leader Sheikh Raed Salah to eight months in prison for inciting Muslims to violence over Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.
March 11: Israeli forces prevent Muslim worshipers under the age of 50 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and close all but three gates leading to it.
March 12: Temple Institute director Yehuda Glick enters Al-Aqsa Mosque compound along with two ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis and escorted by Israeli police officers to tour the site.
March 14: Thousands of worshipers pray in the streets of Jerusalem after Israeli authorities impose restrictions on Palestinians’ right to pray inside Al-Aqsa, prohibiting all Palestinians under the age of 40 to enter.
March 16: Israeli special forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and injure four worshipers, throwing stun grenades and shooting rubber bullets.
March 19: Israeli soldiers tour Al-Aqsa compound escorted by Israeli police.
March 20: Following a visit by right-wing Israeli MK Moshe Feiglin and a number of other right-wing politicians, clashes break out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces in Al-Aqsa compound.
March 21: After Israeli authorities restrict entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound only to people above 50 years, thousands of Palestinian worshipers perform Friday prayers in the streets of Jerusalem.
March 30: A group of 19 Jewish enters Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the guard of Israeli police officers and tour the area.
April 7: Likud MK Moshe Feiglin tours Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy armed guard. A group of around 50 right-wing Jews also tours the area.
April 10: Israeli police ban seven Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for 17 days.
April 13: Dozens of Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound morning, attacking worshipers with stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets.
April 16: Dozens of worshipers are hurt in fierce clashes when Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and deploy in at the site, firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at worshipers and denying Palestinians entry to the compound.
April 18: Nine Palestinians are injured after Israeli forces sprayed them with pepper spray while they were trying to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque after police imposed tight restrictions on worshipers at the compound.
April 20: Dozens of Palestinian worshipers are wounded and dozens are detained after clashes broke out at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with Israeli forces who had stormed the courtyards firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets.
April 22: Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and assault Palestinian worshipers who had chanted religious slogans at a group of around 30 right-wing Jews touring the site.
May 5: Israeli police forbids worshipers under the age of 50 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
May 6: Worshipers under 50 are denied entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second day in a row, forcing them to pray near the main gates of the compound, while police allow a Jewish group to tour the compound.
May 29: An extremist Jewish organization leaves leaflets in Hebrew all over the Old City calling for the demolition of Al-Aqsa Mosque, scattered in all roads and alleys including the alleys leading to al-Aqsa Mosque.
May 30: Palestinian worshipers are forced to pray in the streets of Jerusalem after Israeli authorities impose strict regulations on those wishing to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Friday noon prayers.
June 1: Israeli police prevents some 200 women from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, insisting that they deposit her ID card before going inside, although knowing that the IDs had been seized by police a day before.
June 10: Dozens of worshipers demonstrate at the Moroccans Gate inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound against Israeli restrictions on entering the area.
June 13: Twenty-eight Palestinians are injured and eight detained during clashes that break out after Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after Friday prayers.
June 20: Hundreds of Palestinians perform Friday prayers in the streets leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque after Israeli forces prevented those under 50 years old from entering the compound.
June 24: Israeli police detains four Palestinian children, aged 10-14, from Al-Aqsa Compound, while they were flying a kite.
June 25: A Palestinian woman and a 12-year old boy are injured after Israeli officers beat worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as they protested the presence of a tour group of Israeli settlers.
June 27: Palestinian supreme judge and former Waqf Minister Mahmoud Habbash and his escorts are attacked at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by what is widely believed to be supporters of Hamas and Hizb At-Tahrir.
June 30: Israeli officers assault five Palestinian women at Al-Aqsa Mosque while over 30 Israeli rightists tour the compound, and another Israeli group perform Jewish prayers near the Golden Gate close. In addition, supporters of two-right wing Jewish groups try to take photos, but are confronted by female worshipers.
July 4: Only some 8,000 Palestinian worshipers attended the Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque due to Israeli restrictions and out for fear of clashes with Israeli forces. On the same day last year police reported 80,000 worshippers.
July 7: Israeli police close Al-Aqsa Mosque to women and young men.
July 11: For the second Friday in a row, Israeli forces turn Jerusalem into a military base and impose restrictions on Palestinian worshipers trying to pray at Al-Aqsa compound, limiting access to those over 50 and setting set up barricades in and around the Old City.
July 13: Clashes break out earlier at Al-Aqsa Mosque when Israeli forces raid the compound, close the area to Palestinian worshipers and open it for a group of right-wing Jews. At least 20 Palestinians are injured by rubber-coated steel bullets.
July 15: Clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police break out at Al-Aqsa Mosque when right-wing deputy Knesset speaker Moshe Feiglin enters the compound and prepares for a TV interview.
July 18: Israeli police impose restrictions on Palestinian worshipers entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, only allowing men over 50 and women to enter the compound.
– During clashes at Al-Aqsa compound at least 110 Palestinians are injured, including Waqf Director Sheikh Salhab and Jerusalem Governor Adnan Husseini, and 12 detained.
July 25: Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and fire rubber bullets at Palestinians, injuring at least 30. Clashes erupt at Bab Hutta area in the Old City, Wadi Al-Joz, As-Suwaneh, At-Tur, Silwan, Al-Issawiya and Shu’fat camp, causing further injuries.
July 31: Israeli forces close gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, preventing Palestinians from entering and confiscating ID cards, while settlers escorted by the forces tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Aug. 1: Israeli forces prevent dozens of Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 3: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound while Palestinians are prevented from entering.
Aug. 4: Clashes erupt between at Al-Aqsa Mosque after Israeli forces storm the courtyard to evacuate it from Palestinians, while Israeli settlers enter the site and tour it.
Aug. 5: Israeli forces erect several checkpoints in the Old City and prevent Palestinians under the age of 50 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
– Settlers escorted by Israeli forces perform Talmudic rituals at Suq Al-Qatanin near Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Aug. 6: Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, while allowing rightwing Israelis to tour the site.
Aug. 7: Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, while allowing rightwing Israelis to tour the site.
Aug. 10: Israeli forces prevent dozens of Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque while Israeli settlers enter from Al-Maghariba Gate and tour the compound.
Aug. 11: Israeli forces close all the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Palestinians under the age of 50 from entering it, while allowing settlers and rightwing Israelis to tour the area.
Aug. 12: Israeli settlers tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by security forces. Palestinians under the age of 50 are meanwhile prevented from entering.
Aug. 13: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound while Israeli forces close its gates and prevent most Palestinian from entering.
Aug. 14: Palestinian women are forced to pray at the doors of Al-Aqsa compound for the second day in a row after Israeli police restricts women of all ages as well as men under 30 from entering the site.
Aug. 17: Deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset Moshe Feiglin tours Al-Aqsa Mosque compound along with a group of right-wing Israeli Jews under heavy escort by Israeli forces.
Aug. 31: Israeli forces deny Muslim women entry into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound while allowing Israeli Jews to tour the site.
Sept. 10: Israel dismantles wooden access ramp, erected in August, to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound that would have increased access for non-Muslims but angered Jordan.
– The Appeals Committee of the National Planning and Building Council put the plan for a national park on the slopes of Mt. Scopus on hold until the needs of Issawiyyah and At-Tur are assessed
Sept. 14: Israeli police escorted right-wing deputy Knesset speaker Moshe Feiglin and a group of Jewish extremists into Al-Aqsa compound where they perform provocative religious rites.
Sept. 23: Israeli police deploys heavily at all gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound imposing restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers ahead of the Jewish New Year: Palestinian men under 45 years and all women are denied entry to the mosque.
Sept. 26: Thousands of Palestinians pray in the streets in Ras Al-Amud, Wadi Al-Joz, Salah Eddin Street, and in the alleyways of the Old City as Israel prohibits men under 50 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Friday prayers and deploys forces heavily around East Jerusalem.
Sept. 30: Over 200 extremist Jews enter and tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 1: A group of over 80 Israeli rightists tour Al-Aqsa compound escorted by armed Israeli police.
Oct. 6: Israeli army radio reports that the Ministry of Tourism was working on a plan to allow Jews to enter Al-Aqsa compound through the Cotton Merchants Gate, in addition to the Moroccan Gate which is already used as an entrance for non-Muslims. The announcement is harshly condemned by Palestinians.
– Hundreds of elderly Gazans visit Al-Aqsa Mosque after Israel eases travel restrictions for those over 60 years on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
Oct. 8: Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa Compound ahead of expected visits by right-wing Israelis on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, forcibly removing Palestinian worshipers, attacking some of them with clubs. This triggers clashes with worshipers throwing stones and soldiers firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, injuring dozens of Palestinians and causing a fire inside the mosque.
Oct. 11: Thousands of Palestinians perform Friday noon prayers in the streets in Wadi Al-Joz, Ras Al-Amud, Salah Eddin Street and the Old City as Israeli forces close all roads leading to the holy site and bar men under 50 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 12: Hundreds of Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, leading to clashes with Palestinian worshipers.
Oct. 14: Hundreds of Jews tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under armed guard for the holiday of Sukkot. Clashes erupt due to restrictions on Palestinian worshipers, with men under 50 and all women being prevented from entering the compound.
Oct. 15: Israeli forces detain 17 Palestinians during renewed clashes following a day of unrest in the city triggered by Israel restricting access to Al-Aqsa Mosque for Palestinians while allowing 100 Israelis to tour the compound.
Oct. 17: Deploying hundreds of forces throughout Jerusalem streets, Israeli authorities prevent men under the age of 50 from entering Al-Aqsa compound, forcing thousands of Palestinians to perform Friday prayers in the streets and alleyways in and around the Old City. After the prayer clashes break out in Wadi Al-Joz, Ras Al-Amud, Issawiyya and the Old City.
Oct. 22: Tensions run high at Al-Aqsa compound as another group of right-wing Israeli Jews enters the area under heavy police escort.
Oct. 28: Israeli police officers escort West Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Oct. 29: Right-wing Jewish activist Yehuda Glick is shot and injured at a rally outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem that followed after a conference focused on the reconstruction of a Jewish temple on top of the al-Aqsa Mosque. The alleged perpetrator, Mutaz Hijazi, is killed a few hours later by Israeli forces on the rooftop of his family home in Abu Tor, triggering clashes throughout the city.
Oct. 30: Israeli authorities order Al-Aqsa Mosque compound closed – for the first time since 1967. Following Arab and US calls for Muslim worshippers to be allowed in the closure is lifted in the evening.
Oct. 31: Israeli authorities impose strict restrictions on Palestinian worshippers allowing only those above 50 years to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers.
Nov. 2: Far-right Israeli MK Moshe Feiglin enters Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Palestinians under 40 as well as Waqf employees are banned from entering.
– Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel joins in calls for Israel to change the status quo by allowing Jews not only to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque compound but also to pray there.
Nov. 3: Israeli forces continue to impose restrictions on Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, closing the majority of entry gates and denying entry to men under 40.
Nov. 4: Israel’s Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) tours Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, escorted by Israeli police officers.
Nov. 5: Dozens of Palestinians are injured during clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which remains closed to men under 50. Israeli forces raid Al-Qibli Mosque, where Muslims conduct Friday prayers, and close it with chains and steel barriers as right-wing Jews prepare to tour the compound. Jordan recalls its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest at Israel’s escalation on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Nov. 7: Protests and clashes take place across Jerusalem, as Israel limits access for Palestinians to Al-Aqsa Mosque forcing thousands of worshippers to pray in the streets in Ras Al-Amud, Wadi Al-Joz, Bab Az-Zahra, Al-Musrara and the Old City under the watch of at least 1,300 heavily-armed police, who monitored and photographed the crowds.
Nov. 9: Israeli forces deny all Palestinian women access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, while men are only allowed if they leave their ID cards at inspection stations manned by Israeli troops and police officers.
Nov. 11: Israeli authorities prevent women from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while 39 right-wing Jews enter it.
Nov. 25: Israeli forces hand five Palestinian youth of Jerusalem military orders banning them from Al-Aqsa Mosque for three months.
Nov. 30: A group of 50 right-wing Jews enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and provoke Muslim worshipers.
Dec. 5: Around 190 Palestinians from Gaza head to Jerusalem for Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
– Clashes erupt in Al-Issawiyya.
Dec. 8: A group of Israeli right-wingers under police escort, as well as a separate group of Israeli intelligence officers tours Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Dec. 9: Seventy-five new security guards, 10 of them female, take up posts at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City.
– Israeli forces detain a student and ban teacher from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dec. 10: Right-wing Israeli Jewish groups tour Al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by police.
Dec. 18: Some 140 Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under armed guard for the second day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, touring the site.
Dec. 22: Israeli rightists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah triggering Palestinian protest.
Dec. 24: Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tour the site.
Dec. 26: According to press reports the Israeli excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque threaten part of Al-Buraq Wall to collapse.