Over 2,200 Jews estimated to visit Temple Mount for Tisha B’Av

Over 2,000 Jews have visited the Temple Mount today for the Tisha B’Av day of mourning, which marks the destruction of the two Jewish temples on the holy site, according to an organization that advocates for Jewish prayer on the esplanade.

Beyadenu, an umbrella group of Temple Mount activists, says roughly 2,200 Jews ascended the mount throughout the day, one of the largest numbers of visitors in a single day ever.

The current record for most Jewish visitors is a single day is 2,600, set in May. Last year, 1,600 Jews visited the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av, the organization says.

A handful of Jewish visitors were detained by police for violating the rules of the site by publicly praying, which non-Muslims are banned from doing on the Temple Mount. A small number of Muslim visitors were also detained for arguing and clashing with Jewish pilgrims, police say.