4 Israeli Men Arrested for Planning Temple Mount Passover Sacrifice

Four Jewish men in their 20s were arrested by Israel Police early on Thursday morning on suspicion that they were planning to offer a Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount is also known as Haram al-Sharif, the 37-acre plaza that is the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, where the ancient Jewish temples once stood, and is the third holiest site in Islam, where prayers are held daily. The arrested men, residents of Jerusalem and the West Bank, were taken in for questioning at the Jerusalem District Police Station. A young goat, believed to be the intended sacrifice, was found at the home of one of the suspects, Ynet reported. A radical right-wing Jewish movement, called the Returning to the Mount movement, last week called to renew the ancient Passover sacrifice ritual on the Temple Mount, and offered financial rewards to anyone who succeeds, or at least tries, to offer a sacrifice at the site.  The group offered a reward of 10,000 shekels (a little more than $3,100) for a successful sacrifice and 800 shekels (almost $250) for someone arrested while in possession of a goat. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have warned that such “provocations” at the holy site could lead to a new round of violence.