Why does so much tension surround Al-Aqsa?

Clashes have taken place at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem after Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon last week outlawed two Muslim civilian groups that help protect the site.

Israel accused the groups of confronting Jewish visitors to the complex, which is holy to both faiths.

Israeli police say they entered the compound to ‘”prevent riots” and arrest young Palestinian stone-throwers.

But Palestinian witnesses say the police entered the mosque, firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets, and injured people who were praying inside.

We ask why Al-Aqsa is such a place of tension?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative.

Mordechai Kedar, senior lecturer in the department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University.