Israel arrests 25 Hamas members

Israel's National Security Council (Shin Bet) and Israel Defence Forces arrested 25 members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the West Bank in an overnight raid Sunday, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

The raid is to ensure that conflicts concerning the holy site of Temple Mount (the same area where the Al-Aqsa Mosque locates) do not escalate, the Shin Bet said in a statement.

Shin Bet said although Hamas was not behind the shooting in Jerusalem's Old City on July 14, the group hailed the shooting as heroic and essential, and instigated Muslims to continue their protests.

On July 14, three Israeli policemen were shot near Temple Mount and two of them were dead. Israel cordoned off the area and banned Muslims from visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque there.

Israel's police reopened the mosque two days later, after installing metal detectors and surveillance cameras at the entrance of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Discontent over the Israeli moves, Muslims rallied across the Middle East. Latest violent clashes in Jerusalem have already resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people and injuries of more than 500.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, is revered by Jews as Temple Mount.

It has been a flashpoint site for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the past decades since the 1967 Israeli occupation of Jerusalem's Old City.

In accordance with the agreement between Israel and Jordan, Temple Mount's jurisdiction belongs to Jordan while the police power belongs to Israel.

-- BERNAMA