JERUSALEM, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Arab rioters hurled stones and bottles at Israeli police Sunday after the sacred Temple Mount was closed to visitors and worshipers, officials said.
Two police officers suffered minor injuries, three rioters were arrested and senior Fatah member Hatem Abdel Kader was detained for questioning, Ynetnews.com reported.
The Temple Mount, one of the world's most contested religious sites, was closed after Abdel Kader and Palestinian leader Raed Salah allegedly called for Muslim worshipers to arrive en masse to protect the Temple Mount's al-Aqsa mosque from Jewish visitors, Ynetnews.com reported.
"If we have to choose between giving up the al-Aqsa mosque and being shahids (martyrs), we choose to be shahids," Salah told supporters Saturday.
Many Jewish visitors were expected in Old Jerusalem, the site of the Temple Mount, during the holiday of Sukkot, which began Friday evening and ends Oct. 9.
Last month, the Temple Mount was closed on the eve of Yom Kippur after Jewish tourists, accompanied by police, were stoned by worshipers from the mosque. No serious injuries were reported.
