4 Muslims, 2 Jews detained on Temple Mount during Shavuot
20 cars vandalized in nearby Silwan; Arab man arrested for assaulting woman, child in French Hill.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDAerial view of Temple Mount(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
Four Muslim men were arrested and two Jews were detained by police on Sunday for causing public disturbances on the Temple Mount, as over 1,000 visitors ascended the contested holy site and several thousand Jews made a pilgrimage to the Western Wall to observe Shavuot.The majority of the 1,034 visitors were foreign tourists and followed the government-mandated rules of the status quo forbidding open displays of non-Muslim prayer or nationalistic expressions on the compound, police said. No incidents were reported at the Western Wall.The four Muslims arrested attempted to accost one of the groups touring the compound, police said. It remains unclear what the two Jewish suspects did to warrant being removed from the site.In the nearby Palestinian village of Silwan, located adjacent to the Old City’s walls, nearly two dozen cars were vandalized. Police have opened an investigation to determine if the motive was criminal or nationalistic.Later on Sunday an Arab man was arrested after assaulting a Jewish woman and child in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood. The suspect was apprehended by police shortly after fleeing the scene.The woman and child were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics and transferred to an area hospital in light condition.