The second Intifada was one of the most defining moments in the history of Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.

The popular uprising dubbed “Al Aqsa” was sparked after right-wing Israeli leader Ariel Sharon entered Al Aqsa Mosque on 28 September 2000 accompanied by a large delegation.

It was seen as a clear provocation to Palestinians who had become frustrated with failed peace talks and saw this as an intrusion on their holiest site.

A day after Sharon’s visit, mass rallies in Jerusalem turned deadly when Israeli forces opened fire, killing seven people.

Demonstrations that followed were stamped out by Israel with lethal force. On 30 September 12-year-old Muhammad al-durrah was shot dead by Israeli gunfire while his father tried to shield him from bullets. The images of the killing sent shockwaves across the world and ignited fury in Palestinian cities.

As tensions quickly escalated, many Palestinian factions took up arms to respond to Israeli troops and settlers meanwhile Israel launched its biggest military offensive in the West Bank since its occupation of Palestinian territories during the 1967 war.

In five years of confrontations, more than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed, On 8 February 2005, Ariel Sharon and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced a ceasefire and violence began to die down.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip but a year later imposed tight controls on its entry points, air space and seafront and in the West Bank it increased its military presence setting up more than 200 checkpoints and rapidly increased its construction of illegal settlements. It also began construction of a separation wall 700 kilometers in length and up to eight meters high surrounding the West Bank, Israel cited these as security measures, but rights bodies say they infringed on freedom of movement and further entrenched a system of apartheid in the occupied lands.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice called for the wall to be dismantled but “Israel’ continues to expand it today, shutting out thousands of Palestinians from access to their land.