Violence broke out on the Temple Mount on Sunday morning between personnel from the Muslim Waqf, the entity that administers the holy site, and a group of Jews who were praying and singing there in celebration of Jerusalem Day.
Jewish organizations linked to the Temple Mount said over 1,600 Jewish visitors had entered the compound by lunchtime Sunday, the highest number to arrive in a single day since 1967.
Hundreds of Jewish visitors lined up early Sunday to enter the Temple Mount and mark the anniversary of the city's reunification after the 1967 Six-Day War.
Arabs in the compound began shouting insults at a group of Jewish visitors, who responded by breaking into song. A physical altercation ensued.
Footage of the incident shows Waqf personnel attacking some of the Jews. Security at the compound had been increased ahead of Jerusalem Day, and security officers separated the two groups.
Some of the Jewish visitors had used the singing as cover to pray aloud, which is prohibited. When police saw what they were doing, they were detained.
"There were dozens of worshippers and singers on the mount, and the Waqf began the mayhem," Israeli journalist Arnon Segal told Israel Hayom from the scene.
"Despite the bedlam, entrance to the site is ongoing. There are people arrested among the [Jewish] worshippers and among the rioters."
Several minors, among them the son of Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich, waved Israeli flags at the site.
The Jerusalem District Police issued a statement saying, "A short while ago, during a Jewish visitors' tour of the Temple Mount area, some of them violated the rules of the visit and engaged in provocation, after which they were removed from the premises for the purpose of identification and clarification of the circumstances.
"Visits to the Temple Mount are continuing as usual. We emphasize that the Israel Police is operating within a complex balance while upholding the law and rules of the place, and will not allow any party to break the law in any way."
Meanwhile, thousands of Jewish worshippers and revelers gathered at the Western Wall to mark Jerusalem Day, dancing and singing songs of Jerusalem.
