I did not visit the Temple Mount for religious, political or ideological reasons. Rather, I came as a journalist wishing to know what the commotion is all about. I wanted to find out firsthand whether the Palestinian allegations that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger are founded. Has Israel really changed the sanctified status quo at the Temple Mount or is it — as Israeli officials claim — the unbridled and deliberate incitement by the northern chapter of the Islamic movement in Israel and by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials that sparked the current wave of terror?

On Oct. 28, a day prior to my visit, Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas from the Joint List, visited the Temple Mount despite a ban to do so that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed on Knesset members. Wearing a large hat to conceal his identity, Ghattas managed to fool the guards and sneak into the compound. “Israel continues to change the status quo and is intensifying its sovereignty and occupation there,” he alleged in the wake of his visit.

This was not my first visit to the Temple Mount. My personal photo albums contain pictures of the Temple Mount from the time when visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza was not a big deal. As a journalist, I used to come with a camera to cover the events at the compound, including a widely covered visit by senior Palestinian officials at the time when the PA was established. I recall the photographed visits of senior Palestinian officials Nabil Shaat, Saeb Erekat and others. But since then, tensions at the Temple Mount have intensified. Radical groups such as the Temple Mount Loyalists have started preaching for the construction of a third temple. Guidelines and directives were issued anew in a bid to dial down the tension, stop the deterioration and avert a flare-up. Every side hunkered down behind its positions in a series of control and power struggles, turning the Temple Mount into a volatile bone of contention that mixes political, diplomatic and religious motives.

Visiting the compound is possible only through organized groups or those that get organized on the spot. That’s why I asked to join a tour of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation headed by right-wing activist Yehuda Glick, who heads the LIBA Initiative for Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount. To my surprise, however, I discovered that I was the only tourist in the initiative, which is why I was privileged to have a private tour guide who gave me a detailed overview of the history of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.