Riots break out near Temple Mount

Hundreds of Muslim rioters clashed with Israeli security forces in and around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday morning. Police used water cannons and stun grenades to disperse the rioters, who were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.

The police blamed Hamas and the Islamic Movement for inciting the violence.

“Throughout the day, very large groups of Arab residents of East Jerusalem and other Israeli Arabs have come to the area at the encouragement of the Islamic Movement,” said Police Chief Commissioner Insp. Gen. David Cohen. A separate police statement blamed Hamas for inciting violence in order to “disrupt order on the Temple Mount.”

The riots began as Jerusalem’s Arabic radio station stated that Israeli settlers were heading to the Temple Mount in order to take it over. One police officer and one female journalist were injured in the rioting. Twenty-one people have been arrested. Tensions are rising in East Jerusalem, as Muslim leaders accuse Israel of tunneling under the Temple Mount and conspiring to destroy Muslim sacred sites.