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Israel arrests Islamic activists for incitement to violence on Temple Mount

Israel’s security services continued their operations to stop Muslim agitators and maintain the peace in Jerusalem. 

By Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Several senior members of the outlawed Islamic Movement in Israel were arrested in recent months on suspicion that they incited violent activities on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) stated Sunday that it had arrested four Islamic activists in October and November.

The Shin Bet said that four supported the activities of the Mourabitoun and Mourabitat — groups of men and women who harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount and generate violent incidents. Israel outlawed the organization in September 2015.

The activities of the Murabitoun and Murabitat, linked to Hamas, are a main factor in creating tension and disturbances on the Temple Mount in particular and in Jerusalem in general. Consisting of women and children in many cases in order to mitigate police response, they engage in incitement and dangerous activity against Jewish worshipers and tourists at the site, often leading to violence.

Violent Muslims regularly confront Jewish visitors with verbal – and occasionally physical – abuse, often in large crowds, with the aim of discouraging Jews from setting foot on the holiest site in Judaism. In many cases, Israeli police have had to close the Mount to Jewish visitors as a result of the extreme hostility.

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The four maintained a broad, organized network for fundraising and paying Muslim activists, including a system that provided rides from all over the country to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the Shin Bet stated.

“The violent activities of the Mourabitoun and Mourabitat on the Temple Mount endangers the security of tourists visiting the site and causes an escalation of tensions and disturbances of order, causing harm to Israel’s sovereignty at the complex,” said the Shin Bet.

The four were indicted in the Nazareth District Court on charges of belonging to an illegal organization, illegal actions in terrorism-linked property and money laundering.