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Israel

Temple Mount peace is sign of reduced terror

August 18, 2016 10:45
Marchers on Saturday called for Israeli control of Temple Mount

By

Anshel Pfeffer,

Anshel Pfeffer

1 min read

Tension around Temple Mount in Jerusalem and Palestinian propaganda that the Jews were "defiling" the Al Aqsa Mosque compound were the main motivating forces behind the wave of violence that broke out 10 months ago.

On Sunday, Israeli police allowed more than 300 Jews to make a pilgrimage to the Mount on Tisha b'Av, the fast marking the destruction of the Second Temple 1,946 years ago.

Aside from a few very minor altercations and a handful of arrests, when Jewish visitors overstepped the rules and tried to pray, the day passed relatively peacefully.

Israeli security services were so confident that they had matters under control that, unlike previous years on Tisha b'Av, they allowed Muslims to enter Temple Mount without any special restrictions.

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