Jerusalem Magistrate's Court issued an order Wednesday forbidding the head of the northern branch of Israel's Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah, from being in public areas of the capital while accompanied by more than eight others.

The ruling came after Salah was arrested earlier in the day in East Jerusalem while waving a Syrian flag and delivering speeches seen as inciting.

Salah was arrested along with another demonstrator while protesting in the Wadi Joz neighborhood against the excavation work being conducted under the Mugrabi Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

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A number of Druze activists from the Golan Heights as well as Bedouin sheikhs from the Negev arrived at the protest tent in Wadi Joz to show solidarity with Salah's struggle.

Protesters waved Syrian and Palestine Liberation Organization flags and shouted slogans condemning Israel. Salah and the other protester were taken to the Shalem police station in East Jerusalem.

The Islamic Movement said every day visitors come to the protest tent to show solidarity with the demonstrations against the excavations. Sources within the movement claim that police on Wednesday forcibly dispersed the crowd, wounding some protesters.

About a month ago, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court issued a restraining order against Salah, at the state's request, barring him from entering the Old City of Jerusalem as a result of his protests against the excavation. He was charged with attacking police officers during a demonstration.

Also last month, during a protest in Wadi Joz, Salah accused Israel of attempting to build the Temple on the Temple Mount while drenched in Arab blood, and called for an "intifada" to save the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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