Record number of Jews visit Temple Mount
Published August 1, 2017
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A group of Jewish worshippers at the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2016. (Sebi Berens/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 1,000 Jews visited the Temple Mount, a new record for number of Jewish visitors in one day.
At least 1,046 Jews visited the site on Tuesday, the observance of Tisha B’Av, by early afternoon. More were expected to visit later in the day when the site reopens to visitors, Haaretz reported, citing Jewish Temple Mount activists.
The fast day marks the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
On Jerusalem Day, in May, some 900 Jews visited the Temple Mount.
The visitors passed through metal detectors at the Mughrabi gate, the one gate allotted for non-Muslim visitors to the site. They were required to leave their identity cards at the gate before entering the site.
Seven people were detained after fighting between Jews and Muslim worshipers at the site, according to Israel Police. Six Jews were arrested after praying at the site, according to reports.
Tens of thousands of people also were expected to visit the Western Wall throughout the course of the day, after thousands gathered at the site on Monday night to read the Book of Lamentations.
The mass influx of visitors comes after nearly two weeks of tensions roiled the site over increased security measures including metal detectors following an attack on the Temple Mount which left two Israel Police officers and three Arab-Israeli assailants dead.