Following a two-week crisis over a Jerusalem holy site, Israeli police Monday arrested 33 Palestinians on suspicion of protesting, and state prosecutors filed indictments against an additional five suspects for alleged incitement to violence.
Among the arrests were seven minors, aged 13 to 17; all of the suspects are from neighborhoods in the occupied East Jerusalem, police said.
Police accuse the Palestinians of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails, setting off firecrackers and blocking roads, among other disturbances.
Meanwhile the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office filed indictments against five East Jerusalem residents for allegedly calling for acts of violence against civilians and Israeli authorities on Facebook.
A spokeswoman for Addameer, a Palestinian human rights organization, criticized the arrests as "arbitrary."
"We consider this as a collective punishment against Palestinians, especially in Jerusalem," the spokeswoman said.
Anger has spilled across the West Bank since Israel shut Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following a deadly shootout on July 14. The site is venerated by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.
The mosque was reopened after two days, with Israel installing metal detectors and cameras at its gates.
Protests and deadly unrest erupted in the days after the measures were installed, with clashes breaking out around the compound in Jerusalem's Old City, in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
Seven Palestinians were killed as a result of the clashes, in addition to dozens of wounded. Three Israelis were also killed in an attack in a settlement on the West Bank.
The mosque was reopened after two days, with Israel installing metal detectors and cameras at its gates. Despite calls from the Islamic world to not to offend worshippers and return to the status quo, Israel refused to remove the detectors, claiming the security measures were similar to procedures taken at other holy sites around the world.
But facing international criticism and pressure, Israel's Security Cabinet decided late Monday to remove the metal detectors. A statement released after the meeting said a new surveillance system using "smart checks" based on advanced technology would be put in place.
Jerusalem is sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the Islamic world's third holiest site behind the Kaaba in Mecca and al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina.
