Photo Credit: Flash 90
Police block the way of Arabs trying to enter the Temple Mount during riots. (Archive: September 2015)

The head of the Islamic Waqf Authority on the Temple Mount was arrested by Israel Police for a brief time early Sunday morning after a weekend of violence at the holy site.

Sheikh Abdelazeem Salhab was taken into custody but released a short time later with a slap on the wrist: he is barred from entering the Temple Mount for a week.

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Also arrested was the deputy head of the Waqf, Najah Bakirat, according to Arab media.

Both men were involved in leading the mob of Arabs who this weekend broke down the locked Gate of Mercy, or Golden Gate that blocked entry to the small compound at the eastern side of the Temple Mount for the past 15 years.

Jordan’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, Abdul Nasser Aboul Basal called the arrests a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation” affecting Amman’s role as custodian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, according to the official Petra news agency.

However, just over a week ago, Jordan deliberately expanded the Waqf governing council from 11 members to 18 members and took care to appoint officials from the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, in addition to the viciously anti-Semitic Mufti of Jerusalem, as well as a Muslim official with ties to the anti-Israeli Turkish government.

The move has done much to contribute to the escalation in tensions between the Waqf and Israel Police, and has to some extent been a contributing factor in triggering new violence at the Temple Mount.

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.