Police arrest Jewish protester at Temple Mount (illustration)
Police arrest Jewish protester at Temple Mount (illustration)Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Temple Mount activist Moshe Puah was detained on Tuesday morning while visiting Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem. 

Leading a tour atop the Temple Mount compound, Puah explained to visitors the importance of maintaining a grip on the holy site as a response to growing Arab terror. 

While police forces accompanying the tour barely reacted to this statement, they jumped on Puah the minute he began to recite the Shema prayer, and the activist was subsequently detained for questioning. Video of the incident was uploaded by Puah.

Jewish prayer remains forbidden on the Temple Mount by the Jordanian Waqf, which enjoys de facto control of the holy site, banning Jewish prayer despite Israeli laws stipulating freedom of worship.

The Student Movement for the Temple Mount condemned Puah's arrest in a statement issued later on Tuesday. 

"This tune is impossible to stop. The flow of visitors continues to grow. The High Court has ruled multiple times there is no problem with Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount."

"We will continue to exercise our natural, democratic and legal right until Jews are no longer persecuted on the Temple Mount."