JERUSALEM - Three policemen were lightly injured at the Temple Mount
Sundayafter Palestinian demonstrators hurled stones at them during a tense day in Jerusalem.
However, despite fears over possible widespread violence, the prayer, attended by more than 10,000 Muslim worshipers, ended in relative quiet.
Meanwhile, a special Border Guard force detained leading Hamas figure Hassan Yousef who participated in Sunday's prayer session at the Mount without a permit.
Yousef was arrested on his way back to Ramallah and taken in for interrogation.
Earlier, he was interviewed by al-Jazeera and called on the entire Islamic nation to liberate Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque.
Meanwhile, police arrested 31 right-wing activists in the Old City over suspicions they were planning to disturb the peace. 27 of the detainees were lated released.
The police also arrested seven Palestinians.
Arab youngsters riot
Thousands of Palestinian youths arrived at the gates of Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday morning in a bid to enter the Temple Mount compound to prevent Israeli right-wing activists from entering the compound.
As some spent the night outside the Mount, others spent the morning battling with local policemen, hurling stones and bottles at the troops and even physically attacking them.
Youths rioted in three main East Jerusalem locations: the Lion Gate, Rockefeller Museum and the Iron Gate at the eastern part of the city. A young Palestinian man was arrested trying to enter the compound dressed as a woman. Police said he was on his way to execute an attack.
Knesset members did not enter
Knesset Members Uri Ariel, Arieh Eldad and Yehiel Hazan joined Jewish protesters at the Western Wall and demanded entry onto the Mount but were rebuffed by police.
Hazan said the group came to “actualize Israel’s sovereignty over the Temple Mount,” and said the incident was an “embarrassment” for the State of Israel.
“Muslim Knesset Members are allowed in and Jewish ones are forbidden?” he said.
Uri Ariel also criticized the government’s policy, saying “there are terrorists up there, and I don’t see the prime minister doing too much about it.”
Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the trio was kept out for security reasons.
Arab Knesset member slams government
Arab Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka criticized Israeli policy from inside al-Aqsa Mosque, and called for an international force to guard the site.
“We can’t rely on the Israeli police,” he said.
Iran also criticized the planned demonstration, and threatened “the Zionist dictatorship will suffer severe consequences” if right-wing activists were allowed to penetrate the Temple Mount.
First published: 08:59, 04.10.5