Sharon's Temple Mount Visit Triggers Palestinian Protests

Opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif complex today accompanied by 1,000 Israeli riot police, triggering immediate Palestinian protests at what they view as a deliberate provocation at Islam’s third-holiest site.

Sharon, leader of the right-wing Likud party, declared during his hour-long visit that the complex “will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.” His appearance at the sensitive site comes at a critical moment, with Israeli-Palestinian tensions already high following the Camp David summit’s failure.

“It is the right of every Jew to visit the Temple Mount,” Sharon stated, dismissing Palestinian warnings that his visit could ignite violence. Palestinian leaders had urged Prime Minister Barak to prevent the visit, calling it an intentional provocation.

Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli police at the site, throwing stones and chairs while chanting “With blood and soul we will redeem Al-Aqsa.” Several Palestinians were injured as police dispersed the crowds with tear gas and stun grenades.

Yasser Arafat condemned Sharon’s visit as a “dangerous process conducted by Sharon against Islamic sacred places.” Palestinian Authority officials warned the visit could trigger widespread unrest throughout the territories.

The Barak government, while criticizing the timing, defended Sharon’s right to visit the site. The incident has inflamed an already explosive situation, with many Palestinians viewing it as an assertion of Israeli sovereignty over the contested holy site at the heart of the failed Camp David negotiations.