Israel girds for first Friday of Ramadan amid heightened tensions

(Worthy News) – Israeli police were gearing up for another possible day of mass Palestinian protests Friday, with officials saying that the points of friction may move from the Gaza border to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

May 18 marks the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, when increased religious observance and the closure of many businesses during daylight hours sometimes leads to heightened tensions and clashes with troops.

However, despite the heightened readiness, with some 1,500 police officers deployed to the capital, the army and police said there were no specific security warnings of any kind, and officials had no plans for putting in place heightened security measures, such as limits to the number of Muslim worshipers allowed at Jerusalem’s holy sites over the course of the day, according to reports in Hebrew-language media. IDF forces around Jerusalem have been equipped with riot dispersal means. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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