An activist identifying with the "Returning to the Temple Mount" group was arrested Sunday morning while making his way to the Mount carrying a goat intended for a sacrifice.
The activist was detained at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City by police officers who prevented him from continuing toward the Mount. The Honenu legal organization is representing him.
Following the arrest, the "Returning to the Temple Mount" movement said: "After 2,000 years, the time has come to renew the sacrificial service."
"Especially now, when a ceasefire has been signed ending the 'Al-Aqsa Flood' (October 7 massacre - ed.) war, it is our duty to remember how we must defeat Hamas and what we are fighting for - Jewish sovereignty and the renewal of the sacrificial service on the Temple Mount."
Earlier this year, the Hamas terror group, which planned and executed the October 7 massacre and which insists on using Gaza's civilians as human shields, claimed that the holding of Jewish worship ceremonies on the Temple Mount constitutes a "desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
In a message published in April on the organization's Telegram channel, it was stated that the entire Temple Mount - according to Islamic belief - is considered an inseparable part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and therefore any Jewish action in the place, especially sacrifices, is considered a severe violation of the site's sanctity.