Moshe Feiglin, a Likud member and right-wing activist, was arrested on Tuesday for breaking rules forbidding Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount, holy to both Jews and Muslims, is under the management of the Islamic Waqf, with Israeli police responsible for security. Under Israeli rules aimed at keeping the peace at the volatile site, Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray there.
Police said Feiglin and another activist, Hagai Weiss, were praying. Feiglin denied the charge.
Weiss was released on bail, but Feiglin did not agree to bail conditions. He refused to be fingerprinted or to sign a pledge stay away from the Temple Mount for a period of 15 days, Israeli media reported.
On Tuesday evening, police sought to extend Feiglin’s remand, but the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ordered his unconditional release.
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Feiglin, who regularly visits the Temple Mount, reportedly said he does not have any faith in the Israeli justice system. He refused to be released “even one millimeter less free than I was when I entered today.”
Many religious nationalists have long sought to restore full Jewish authority at the site where the biblical Temples stood. Israeli authorities keep them under tight control to avoid inflaming Muslim anger.
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