CNN Granted Permission To Holy Site At Heart Of Conflict In Jerusalem
Date
4/12/2023 10:11:41 AM
(MENAFN- Mid-East.Info) Israel has banned all non-Muslims from the sacred area which Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf.
The area includes the al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, which Israeli police raided twice last week triggering a string of violence in the region.
CNN Correspondent Salma Abdelaziz and her team were granted special permission to visit the holy site and speak to Muslim worshippers about their concerns.
“I feel pain true pain inside,” one Muslim worshipper tells Abdelaziz.“This is a place of worship, not a place for occupation or for provocation.”
While they speak, a group of largely Jewish visitors passes by the mosque under police escort.
This mountain top is revered by Jews, too. A growing movement of Jewish extremists is demanding to perform prayers here that could upend the status quo. CNN witnessed at least two men praying as police standby.
CNN saw several small groups like this of non-Muslim worshippers passing through the complex as Muslims continue to pray inside the mosque.
This is where the friction is. This is where the controversy lies.
Abdelaziz also speaks to the director general of the al-Aqsa Mosque, who tells her that he sees the increasing visits of Jewish extremists under police escort as a provocation –“I see these visits as an attack on our holy site,” he explains.
Prime Minister Netanyahu insists he is committed to keeping the status quo. But under his government, the most far right in Israel's history, extremist voices are growing louder and stronger.
All this makes an already extremely contentious place ever more of a tinderbox. One event here can and has sparked deadly cycles of violence across the region.
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