article_snippet.sent: The work at the Dome of the Rock was simply meant to replace carpet, worn away by thousands of pilgrims at the gold-topped shrine, which overlooks old Jerusalem.
article_snippet.sent: it has sparked a war of words between the Waqf, the Muslim authority that administers the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, which includes the Dome of the Rock, and Israeli archaeological authorities, who say the repairs were carried out behind their backs.
article_snippet.sent: Row: the Dome of the Rock
article_snippet.sent: the Rock is one of the most contentious religious spots in all of Jerusalem, and the argument over the carpet is simply the latest in a long line of battle between Muslim and Jewish groups .
article_snippet.sent: The Dome is considered Judaism's holiest spot and Islam's third holiest .
article_snippet.sent: The Dome is thought to be one of the most interesting archaeological sites in Jerusalem .
article_snippet.sent: The Dome the Rock is at the centre of competing claims.
article_snippet.sent: Meanwhile, Jews believe the Rock may be where the holiest part of the two ancient Temples stood as early as about 3,000 years ago
article_snippet.sent: — and where religious Jews pray a third Temple will one day be built.
article_snippet.sent: The adjacent Western Wall, believed to be one of the last remnants of the Temple complex, is the holiest site where Jews can pray.
article_snippet.sent: But Palestinian officials reject Jewish historical ties to the holiest site where Jews can pray and the competing claims have been known to spill over into violence.
article_snippet.sent: While Jerusalem may be the most excavated city in the world, the Dome and Jerusalem hilltop plaza
article_snippet.sent: are an archaeological goldmine which has never been properly dug because of the political sensitivities surrounding the site, which is considered Judaism's holiest spot and Islam's third holiest.
article_snippet.sent: Tens of thousands of worshippers attend weekly Friday prayers, and the carpets have been replaced before — most recently 12 years ago, at a time of heightened violence when Israeli antiquities officials were granted limited access to the site.
article_snippet.sent: Some apparently date to when the Crusaders controlled the complex in the 12th century, she said. '