JERUSALEM
Two Jewish settlers were arrested overnight in occupied East Jerusalem for holding flyers calling for the closure of the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
"Two Jewish young men were arrested late Wednesday night in the Old City in possession of a bagful of flyers calling for the closure of [Temple Mount complex]," Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement on Thursday.
Samri described the act as a "failed attempt at disrupting public order."
In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers – often accompanied by Israeli security forces – have repeatedly forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
