A guard working for the Waqf on the Temple Mount was arrested in the past week after he attacked an Israeli police officer at the site, according to an indictment issued against him on Tuesday.
On December 21, the guard, Louay Abu Al-Sa'ad, disrupted Israel Police officers who were arresting a Waqf employee on the Temple Mount. He filmed the officers and stayed close to them in a "threatening manner," as well as raising his voice. The Waqf guard refused to calm down, even after being warned that he was disrupting the officers' work.
On Sunday morning, Al-Sa'ad saw one of the guards who had arrested the Waqf employee while sitting in front of the al-Aqsa Mosque. The officer saw al-Sa'ad looking at him and wished him a "good morning." The Waqf guard proceeded to run after the officer as he yelled "don't tell me good morning!" and began punching and kicking him.
The officer managed to pull out his baton, causing the guard to run away into the mosque and lock the doors. The officer waited for more police to arrive and, half an hour later, the guard exited the mosque and was arrested. According to Palestinian reports, two other Waqf employees were arrested at the site on Sunday as well.
The Jerusalem district attorney requested that al-Sa'ad's arrest be extended until the end of legal proceedings against him.
#شاهد| شرطة الاحتلال تعتقل حارس المسجد الأقصى لؤي أبو السعد بعد محاصرته داخل قبة الصخرة. pic.twitter.com/jvzcgrjVOC
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) December 26, 2021
The Waqf, an arm of the Jordanian Ministry of Sacred Properties, administers the Temple Mount site.
Visits by religious Jews to the Temple Mount are monitored by Waqf guards and Israeli police – and all Jewish prayer, including silent prayer, is forbidden, although quiet prayer seems to have been unofficially permitted for the past two years.