Pope to visit Jerusalem holy sites

By Alastair Macdonald

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Pope Benedict meets leading Muslim and Jewish clerics at their holy sites in Jerusalem on Tuesday as he strives to promote dialogue among the religions on a Middle East tour already marked by controversy.

After meeting the Grand Mufti, Palestinians' senior Muslim cleric, at the Dome of the Rock which dominates the Old City, he will meet Israel's two chief rabbis at the Western Wall, a remnant of the Roman-era Temple that is Judaism's holiest place.

The Dome covers the spot where all three great monotheistic religions believe Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son to God, before an angel stayed his hand. King Solomon and his successors built Jewish temples on the site before the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in AD 70 and Jews scattered in exile.

In the 7th century, Islamic conquerors built the first Dome on the spot, where Muslims also believe Mohammad ascended to heaven. The area around, including the al-Aqsa mosque and known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, has been a focus of tensions since Israeli forces captured Jerusalem's Old City in 1967.

When Israeli politician Ariel Sharon walked through what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount in 2000, Palestinian anger turned into several years of bloody uprising, or Intifada, against occupation. Sharon went on to become prime minister.

The pope will later visit the site of Jesus's Last Supper with his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection, the key to Jerusalem's importance for Christians, before saying Mass for thousands of worshippers at the Garden of Gethsemane.

CONTROVERSY

Arriving Monday after three days in Jordan, Pope Benedict found his efforts to heal differences with Jews and Muslims challenged by Israeli disappointment with his speech at Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, and by a fiery anti-Israel speech, delivered in his presence by a Palestinian Muslim cleric, which annoyed both the Vatican and Israelis.