1,008 Jews arrived today, Sunday, to the Temple Mount on the occasion of the fast of Tisha B'Av, marking the mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
Most of the visitors to the Temple Mount completed their visits without any incident, but nine were detained by police, some for bowing on the mount.
These were removed from the Temple Mount and detained at the Beit Eliyahu police station. All were released after the delay, with the exception of three detainees, who are receiving assistance from attorney Moshe Polski of the Honenu legal organization.
The Temple Mount will open for Jews for another hour, between 1:30 and 2:30 pm.
An Arab boy was arrested on the Temple Mount after waving a Palestinian flag and shouting slogans against Jews.
Among the visitors to the mount were activists from the "Students for the Temple Mount" organization who came with sandbags in order, they said, to "start building instead of crying.” Three activists with helmets and construction equipment were detained, while two more activists and the chairman of the organization advanced to the entrance to the Temple Mount with their helmets.
A violent quarrel broke out in the marketplace located in the Muslim Quarter, between Jewish worshipers who were on their way to the Western Wall plaza and Arab residents of the Old City. Police who arrived at the scene separated the parties.
Last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prevented Agricultural Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) from ascending the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av.
Arutz Sheva was informed that Ariel's request was rejected following a request by the Jordanian government, which claimed that in his recent ascension to the Temple Mount, Minister Ariel linked the importance of going up to the Temple Mount with the weekly Torah portion "Pinchas."
In light of the Jordanian request, Netanyahu decided to forbid Minister Ariel to visit the Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av.
On the other hand, a security official asserted that Minister Ariel knew in advance that he would not be allowed to ascend the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av.
"When the ban on Knesset members from ascending the Temple Mount was lifted, the defense establishment set rules according to which every MK could go up to the Temple Mount once every three months. Minister Ariel rushed to be the first one to ascend, knowing that the next time he could go up would be only months later,” said the official.
The security official hinted that Ariel had acted in bad faith when he knew he would not be permitted to go up to the Temple Mount, and yet made sure to make his request public in order to "make a political gain."