Ariel Sharon's Temple Mount Visit Sparks the Second Intifada (2000)
On September 28, 2000, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon walked onto the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem's Old City, a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims and home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The visit, conducted under heavy police escort, triggered mass Palestinian protests the following day that quickly spiraled into the Second Intifada, also called the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Over the next five years, the uprising would claim thousands of lives and fundamentally alter the trajectory of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
A Region on Edge
By late September 2000, hopes for a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians had grown fragile. Two months earlier, the Camp David Summit hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton had collapsed without an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, leaving core issues—Jerusalem's status, Palestinian refugees, and final borders—unresolved. Frustration on the Palestinian street was mounting, fueled by continued Israeli settlement expansion, economic hardship under limited Palestinian self-rule, and a sense that the Oslo Accords of the 1990s had failed to deliver statehood or dignity. Israeli society, meanwhile, was gripped by anxiety over the summit's failure and skepticism that Arafat was a reliable peace partner. Into this volatile atmosphere stepped Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Likud opposition party and a controversial military and political figure known for his hardline stances. His planned visit to the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and home to both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, was widely seen by Palestinians as a deliberate provocation asserting Israeli sovereignty over the contested holy site, even though Sharon and Israeli officials framed it as an exercise of a citizen's right to visit.
Did You Know?
Ariel Sharon's entire visit to the Temple Mount lasted only about 30 to 34 minutes, yet it helped trigger an uprising that lasted nearly five years and claimed roughly 4,000 lives combined. Sharon required a security detail of approximately 1,000 Israeli police officers for the brief walk, underscoring just how explosive the site's symbolism was even before a single stone was thrown.
The Visit and Its Immediate Aftermath
On the morning of September 28, 2000, Sharon entered the Temple Mount compound accompanied by roughly 1,000 Israeli police officers, a security presence reflecting the sensitivity of the site rather than any personal request from Sharon himself. He remained on the plateau for about half an hour, did not enter the mosques, and made brief remarks affirming Israel's claim to the area. Palestinian leaders, including Arafat, condemned the visit in advance as an incendiary act. The following day, September 29, thousands of Palestinian worshippers gathered at Al-Aqsa after Friday prayers, and clashes erupted between demonstrators throwing stones and Israeli police using rubber bullets, tear gas, and live ammunition. Several Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded that day alone, and violence quickly spread beyond Jerusalem to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Arab towns inside Israel. Within days, the unrest had grown from localized protests into a widespread uprising, with Palestinian youths confronting Israeli forces at checkpoints and flashpoints across the territories, marking the unmistakable start of what became known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Escalation and the Long Road to Sharm el-Sheikh
What began as stone-throwing protests soon escalated into a far deadlier and more sustained conflict. Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, launched a wave of suicide bombings targeting Israeli buses, cafes, and markets, while Israeli forces responded with military operations, targeted killings, and extensive incursions into Palestinian cities, most notably Operation Defensive Shield in the spring of 2002. Israel also began constructing a separation barrier through and around the West Bank, citing security needs. The violence proved devastating and prolonged: by the time it subsided, roughly 3,000 Palestinians and about 1,000 Israelis had been killed, with tens of thousands more injured, and the region's economy and daily life were severely disrupted. Ariel Sharon, elected Israeli prime minister in February 2001 just months after his fateful visit, oversaw much of Israel's military response. The uprising finally wound down following the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit in February 2005, where Sharon and newly elected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat after his death in November 2004, declared an end to hostilities. The Second Intifada left a lasting legacy of mistrust, hardened political positions on both sides, and a peace process that has struggled to recover ever since.