Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King concluded that despite media outlets portraying a different picture, the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem, even with a right-wing government and Itamar Ben Gvir as Minister of National Security, was the most peaceful in decades.

On his Twitter account, Deputy Mayor King wrote: "Ramadan 23’ summary: the quietest in Jerusalem in decades." King added that "a record number of Jews went up to the mountain [Temple Mount], in the month of Ramadan." He also wrote that "the riots remained within the walls of the Temple Mount" implying that for many years the riots spread to the eastern neighborhoods of the city and the mixed neighborhoods wheras this year, that did not happen.

סיכום רמדאן 23':
השקט ביותר בירושלים מזה עשרות שנים.
1.הפיגוע שבוצע על ידי ילד,תושב שכם שנכנס ביום שישי יחד עם כ30,000 מתושבי איו"ש ונישאר בירושלים עד לבוקר הפיגוע,ככל הנראה קיבל סיוע והכוונה מקומית.
2.מספר שיא של יהודים שעלו להר,בחודש הרמדאן.
3.המהומות נותרו בין כותלי הר הבית. pic.twitter.com/iXau6PoiqT

— Arieh King (@arieh_king) April 22, 2023

He also mentioned that in previous years, incidents of disorder and mass riots were recorded in the area of ​​the Damascus Gate, and the A-Tor and Issawiya neighborhoods, including throwing stones at buses on their way to the Western Wall and violence against Jewish worshipers who made their way to the Western Wall on foot.

Despite King’s factual assessment of the relatively quiet atmosphere this past Ramadan, the Israeli Police did prepare accordingly and were not shy to report on the amount rioters they arrested throughout the month. A leading Jerusalem district police officer, Erez Tavor told reporters that "In places where we encountered violent disturbances and an attempt to turn a mosque into a military warehouse with a violent fortification, we acted decisively and made many arrests. Even in cases where terrorist flags were raised on the Temple Mount and calls of incitement were heard, we knew how to come to terms with dozens of suspects who were involved in these events and arrest them, especially on the Fridays of Ramadan.

Dozens of those arrested for incitement were interrogated by the special team created by Minister Ben Gvir to prevent incitement on the Internet, in cooperation with police officials and with the approval of the Attorney General’s office. Meanwhile, in the last two weeks, the Jerusalem police foiled 8 terrorist attacks throughout Jerusalem.

Freedom of worship in Jerusalem during Passover and Ramadan:

This morning thousands of Jewish worshippers are attending the morning prayer at the Western Wall, while it’s quiet and peaceful at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. pic.twitter.com/EkET1hJGYH

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 9, 2023

Tavor, like the Deputy Mayor, did note that the holiday atmosphere was maintained throughout the holy city. "Besides the activity in the operational, intelligence, and awareness axis, we also did not neglect the community axis before and during Ramadan. Anyone who was at Damascus Gate could not miss the colorful holiday atmosphere with bustling commerce, lively traffic, and holiday decorations from all sides. It was the police activity before and during Ramadan that lowered the bar of the violence in the area.”