Eight Arabs who voiced support for Hamas and incited violence on the Temple Mount on Friday morning were arrested, according to an Israel Police statement.
“Those despicable instigators and supporters of terrorism are residents of the State of Israel who are taking advantage of a religious occasion and using a holy place of prayer for incitement and support for terrorism and terrorists,” the statement read.
“Those people place a very big stain on the Muslim residents of Israel, and we call on everyone who opposes terrorism and incites terrorism to act to prevent similar incidents in a holy place.”
About 3,600 police officers were deployed across Jerusalem on Friday as the Muslim holiday begins to wind down. Just like they’ve been doing for the past few years, Israel police closed off the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors for the last ten days of Ramadan.
Last weekend, police arrested 23 suspects who expressed support for terrorism on the Temple Mount after prayers. On Thursday, Israel’s authorities announced plans to bar those suspects from entering the Temple Mount for this week’s prayers.
