Yitzhak Reiter and Jon Seligman, “Jews and Moslems in Jerusalem – Har Ha Bayit and Al-Haram al-Sharif, 1917- present – A history.” With permission of the authors.
Since the 1920s the Sacred Esplanade of Jerusalem came to symbolise the bone of contention in the conflict over Palestine. The maintenance and even definition of the lines of division between the communities was a clear aim of the British authorities from 1920-1948. The communal/religious conflicts intensified after 1967 with the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem and other Arab-populated territory, which left neither side fully content.