Jerusalem  - Just hours after detaining him, Israeli police released Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the hardline Arab- Israeli Islamic Movement in northern Israel, according to media reports late Tuesday.

Salah was barred from returning to Jerusalem for 30 days after the judge exiled him to his hometown of Umm al Fahem in northern Israel.

Salah was arrested after he called for all Muslims to rush to Jerusalem to defend the Temple Mount after days of street clashes over the flashpoint holy site that is sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Police have been trying to constrain the escalation of violence that began over the weekend, when police restricted access to the Al Aqsa mosque to men with Israeli identity cards aged 50 or older. (dpa)