In 2000,confrontations at the site of the al-Aqsa mosque and the Western Wall sparked a bloody, Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada, which lasted for several years.

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Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto Saudi ruler, who was appalled at the administration's apparent indifference to Palestinian suffering in the second intifada, told Bandar to deliver a tough message threatening to freeze relations.

ECONOMIST: Prince Bandar bin Sultan was an envoy like no other