No end in sight

The stone-paved platform known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as the al-Aksa mosque or the Noble Sanctuary, sits high above the noise and tension of earthbound Jerusalem. It holds an ancient mosque, a gold-topped shrine and fountains gurgling in the shade of cypress trees.

On most days the peace there is almost celestial.

"But in a moment it can turn into hell," said Isam Awwad, the chief architect in charge of the sacred space.
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