Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Sunday in response to Muslim stockpiling of weapons intended for use against Jewish worshippers marking Tisha B’Av, the traditional commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second temples.

Every year, thousand of Jews gather at the Western Wall to mournfully remember the Temple’s downfall.

In preparation for this year’s service, Muslim officials and worshippers sitting atop the Temple Mount had stockpiled stones, Molotov cocktails (firebombs) and firecrackers inside the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

In order to prevent what would have been a massive attack on unarmed Jewish worshippers, police entered the Temple Mount compound in force early Sunday morning and clashed with the Muslim rioters.

The would-be assailants were pushed back into the Al Aqsa Mosque and the doors were shut on them. Six Muslims were reportedly arrested for violently assaulting police officers.