Sacred flash point

Paramedics carry a wounded Israeli police officer from the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after violence erupted at the holy site in September 2000.

On September 28, 2000, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon led a delegation on a well-publicized visit to the place in Jerusalem that Jews call Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif, or Nobel Sanctuary.

After Sharon's visit, crowds of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank began attacking Israeli security forces with rocks and guns.

Palestinians blame Sharon's visit to the disputed site for sparking the unrest. Sharon said he went to the site with a message of peace. He said the violence was a premeditated campaign orchestrated by the Palestinian Authority.

The violence continued into 2001, with each side continuing to blame the other. It cast a shadow over the peace process and Israeli internal politics. Sharon went on to defeat Ehud Barak for prime minister in February 2001.

The Temple Mount or Nobel Sanctuary, sacred to both religions, is situated on the fault lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The site hosts Judaism's most sacred shine, the Western Wall, the last remaining segment of the ancient Temple. It is also home to two major mosques, Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock. The mosques make up Islam's third holiest site behind Mecca and Medina and mark the spot where tradition says the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

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