JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli police have raised the level of alert for the period of the festivals due to numerous warnings of terror attacks and the increase in violence in Judea and Samaria
Police warned of potential unrest ahead of the upcoming holiday period, which begin next Sunday night with Rosh Hashanah and continues through the middle of next month with the Simhat Torah holiday on October 17.
To prepare for this tense period, Israeli police have deployed some 2,000 officers around the capital and have also issued restraining orders against a number of Muslims and Jews who were seen as potential instigators of violence and unrest in Jerusalem.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman said that visits to the Temple Mount would continue as usual during the holiday season and that police would remove anyone who violated the rules of the site.
“Regular practices in place at the [Temple Mount] for years will be maintained. The dates of visits will not be changed. Anyone who breaks the rules will be removed from the mount,” Turgeman said.
Police said they were also working with the Waqf — the Jordan-funded trust that administers the site — to prevent an escalation of violence.
High-level contacts were also taking place between Jordan’s King Abdullah and Prime Minister Yair Lapid in an attempt to arrange a summit during the UN general assembly. Senior Israei officials said that responsibility for any escalation in violence lies solely with the PA and “if it does not act- we will act.”
A number of shooting attacks have occurred in recent days against Israeli vehicles in Judea and Samaria, but miraculously there were no injuries. Additionally, Arab terrorists fired Saturday night at a yeshiva in the South Hevron community of Carmel, moderately wounding a young yeshiva student.
In an unrelated incident, The IDF said Sunday its troops had arrested two Palestinian suspects at the West Bank security barrier, near the Israeli Arab city of Baqa al-Gharbiye, one of whom was armed with a submachine gun.
It was unclear whether the pair were planning a terror attack or wished to sell the gun for profit.
The violence in Judea and Samaria has yet to spread to Jerusalem but police are taking no risks and maintaining the highest alert to prevent terror attacks during the crowded holiday period.
Source: VosIzNeias