Why is Al-Aqsa mosque so important in Islam?

STORY: A recent Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan has triggered a furious reaction from Palestinians and the wider Arab and Muslim world.

(Unidentified worshiper)

"I was praying and I was sitting on a chair reciting (the Qur'an), they (Israeli police) hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest.

The religious compound has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many years.

Let's take a look at why.

The Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of Jerusalem's Old City on a hill known to Jews as Temple Mount, and to Muslims internationally as The Noble Sanctuary.

Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

Al-Aqsa is the name given to the whole compound and is home to two Muslim holy places: the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The mosque was built in the 8th century AD.

The compound overlooks the Western Wall, a sacred place of prayer for Jews, for whom the Temple Mount is their most sacred site.

During the Middle East war in 1967, Israel captured the site and annexed it with the rest of East Jerusalem and adjoining parts of the West Bank in a move not recognized internationally.

The Al-Aqsa compound has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem.

Under the longstanding "status quo" arrangement governing the area, which Israel says it maintains, non-Muslims can visit but only Muslims are allowed to worship in the mosque compound.

Jewish visitors have increasingly prayed more or less openly at the site in defiance of the rules.

And Israeli restrictions on Muslim worshippers' access to the site have also led to protests and outbreaks of violence.

Clashes at the site in 2021 contributed to setting off a 10-day war with Gaza.