Police on Wednesday arrested eight Arabs suspected of disturbing the peace near the Old City of Jerusalem.

During the afternoon, as Muslim worshipers celebrating the birthday of the founder of their religion left the Temple Mount, a small handful of young men began to riot near the Damascus Gate, throwing bottles and other projectiles at police officers and passing buses.

A short time later, eight of the suspects were caught by police and Border Police forces. During the arrests, several rioters who attempted to stop and disrupt the officers from performing the arrests were repelled.

The police stated: "We see the exploitation of religious holidays to attempt to harm officers or civilians who live in the area with severity. The Israel Police Force will continue to allow freedom of worship to everyone and at the same time will work against the disturbance of peace and criminals who try to harm security forces and road users."