Jerusalem. Photo: Berthold Werner.

JNS.org – A top-ranking Hamas operative says the Palestinian terror group is paying young Arabs to harass Jews and incite riots on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Israeli Shin Bet security agency revealed.

Hamas operative Mahmoud Toameh, 63, who was arrested by the Shin Bet as he was attempting to infiltrate the country from Jordan, said during interrogation that Hamas is paying between NIS 4,000 and 5,000 ($1,150-$1,440) to harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount and throw stones at them.

Toameh, who was born in the West Bank town of Tulkarem but lived in Saudi Arabia until recently, also confirmed that Iran has reduced its funding of Hamas over the past year, forcing the terror group to seek funding from Persian Gulf countries.