Israeli police on Sunday arrested two Jews and an Arab for disrupting public order at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, a spokesman said.

"We arrested this morning two Jews who were prostrating on the esplanade, which is contrary to the instructions of behaviour at the site, as well as an Israeli Arab who approached them in a threatening manner," Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

He said the two Jews had arrived at the holy site, referred to as the Temple Mount by Jews and Haram al-Sharif by Muslims, under the guise of tourists.On Friday, Israeli police entered the compound after being stoned by worshippers, following several days of clashes there, and used sound grenades to disperse the crowds.

Tensions have been running high over a series of visits to the compound by rightwing Jewish activists during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which began at sundown last Sunday.

The compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques, and is venerated by Jews as the site where King Herod's temple stood before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It is one of the most sensitive sites in Jerusalem, and clashes frequently break out between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the compound.