"The Israel Police arrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded themselves in the Temple Mount, including masked individuals, stone and firework hurlers/throwers, and individuals suspected of desecrating the mosque," the Israeli police wrote on Twitter.
On Tuesday evening, the Israeli forces stormed the mosque prayer hall and attacked the Palestinians, using stun grenades, gas, rubber bullets, batons and stocks of rifles, Palestinian media reported. Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies director Riyad Al-Ashqar told journalists then that the Israeli forces had detained over 200 Palestinians during the raid.
The police specified that the demonstrators had been transferred to the Jerusalem Precinct Operational investigation center for questioning. Following the removal of the rioters, the mosque was cleaned and the morning prayer was held as planned, the law enforcement agency added.
Relations between Israel and Palestine have been adversarial since the latter's founding in 1948. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations. Violence has escalated in recent months in the West Bank amid near-daily Israeli arrest raids in Palestinian-controlled areas.