Thirty-three people including seven minors have been arrested in East Jerusalem after dozens of Israeli police raided the homes of those suspected of involvement in the violent clashes over security at the Temple Mount.
The suspects, who were arrested on Sunday night, were taken for interrogation, according to the respected Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. The police carried out the raids in the neighbourhoods of Tur, Shuafat, Beit Hanina, Wadi Joz, Ras al-Amud, Isawiya and Jerusalem's Old City.
The youngest of the minors to be arrested was 13, according to the report.
The police said that during the protests over the past two weeks, dozens of people blocked roads and threw Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects.
'We arrested the core group of rioters who took an active part in the violent riots directed against the security forces,' the Israel Police said in a statement.
But police faced criticism for the raids. 'As an Israeli, it is worrying that the police continue to behave in the same aggressive ways that recently failed so badly on Temple Mount,' said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the leftist nonprofit organisation Ir-Amim. 'The mass arrests that occur regularly for Jewish holidays, such as Tisha B'Av, are another example of trampling basic Palestinian rights. They buttress Palestinian claims that the Temple movements, which aspire to profoundly change the situation on the Temple Mount, enjoy the protection of the police.'
On July 14, three Israeli Arabs killed two border police officers in an attack at the Temple Mount.
The following day, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that metal detectors be installed at the site, on the recommendation of Israel Police.
However, Muslim worshippers refused to pass through the metal detectors, praying outside the entrances and in the streets. Violent clashes erupted, in which three Palestinians were killed. Israeli authorities ended up removing the metal detectors and security cameras, and the Palestinians announced that the status quo had been restored.
Netanyahu has faced criticism on the Israeli right for removing the metal detectors, which he said was a 'difficult' decision.
