Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held a situation assessment on Sunday, Tisha B'Av following unrest at the Temple Mount.
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The Prime Minister's office reported that he instructed Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to allow continued Jewish visits to the Mount.
Starting Saturday evening, thousands of Jewish worshippers arrived at the Western Wall to mark Tisha B'Av, reading out the traditional Lamentations and reciting prayers of mourning. Some sat on the ground and wept over the destruction of the Temple.
Video: Arab social media
On Sunday, several hundred Jewish worshippers visited the Temple Mount itself, under police security. The visit sparked clashes between Jews and Muslims present. Palestinians reported that police had raided the compound and made several arrests. There was no confirmation of the report from the Israel Police.
Some 1,200 police and Border Police personnel were deployed to secure prayers at the Western Wall and on the Mount.
Dor Shalev, from the Samaria settlement Brukhin, visited both the Western Wall and the Temple Mount compound on Sunday. "Tisha B'Av is a day to remember the destruction of society and the Jewish state that was here in the Land of Israel 2,000 years ago. We have to remember what we lost and for what reasons. Everyone has to conduct their own introspection, while continuing to build the Land of Israel to which we've had the privilege of returning," he said.
Palestinian sources also reported that the police were keeping Waqf officials out of the Temple Mount compound. Hamas called on its people to go to Al-Aqsa Mosque and defend the Old City, apparently in an attempt to inflame tensions.
"We are calling on our people to march to Jerusalem, be present in the alleyways of the Old City," Hamas said.
Meanwhile, even before the eve of Tisha B'Av on Saturday, the International Union of Muslim Scholars, led by radical cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, began inciting against Jewish visits to the Mount, alleging that "the occupying settlers are trying to attack us."
"We condemn the repeated provocations, as well as the continuance of attacks by the radicals against Al-Aqsa Mosque," Qaradawi said.
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