Israeli Internal Security Minister Tsahi Hanegbi on 22 October visited the Temple Mount, also known as Al-Haram al-Sharif, in the first visit by a senior Israeli official since the start of the intifada in September 2000, to check security measures before the holy month of Ramadan. The visit, which was unannounced to avoid any protests, was described by the Waqf - the Muslim authority that oversees the site - as an act of provocation. It was Ariel Sharon's visit to the holy site in 2000 during his campaign for Prime Minister that caused the violence that eventually erupted into the intifada.