Amid Arab violence, record number of Jews ascend to Judaism’s holiest site
Over the two days of Rosh Hashanna, a record 1,083 Jews went up to the Temple Mount. Last year, 572 Jews ascended the Temple Mount on the Jewish New Year.
This completes the record of 51,254 Jews who ascended the Temple Mount this year, 5782. The month in which the most Jews ascended the mountain in the past year was the month of Tishrei, in which a total of 6,102 Jews ascended the mountain, followed by the month of Av with 5,833 ascenders, followed by Iyar with 5,766 ascenders to the Mount in one month
At the same time, masked Arabs used the Muslim sites to launch attacks, launching stones and explosive fireworks at police and Jewish visitors to Judaism’s holiest site. Arabs have been clashing with police in Jerusalem’s Old City for the past three days.
Video released by police appeared to show fireworks being shot from an alcove above a door to the mosque, which a spokesman for the force accused the Palestinians of “desecrating.”
Clashes also took place around the nearby Lion’s Gate. During the holiday, police officers arrested 16 people on suspicion of disturbances, violent riots and incitement.. There were no casualties reported to Israeli security forces.
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