Police will deploy large additional forces in Jerusalem and the North on Friday,
ahead of Nakba Day on Sunday, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Muslim men
aged 45 and upwards will be granted free access to the Temple Mount, as will
females of all ages, Rosenfeld added.
“We will be carrying out patrols,
and we’ll respond immediately to any incidents. We hope Friday will pass
off quietly and in a respectable manner,” he said.
Police brass are
holding ongoing security assessments ahead of Sunday, and they are prepared for
the possibility of disturbances.
On April 28, during a speech to mark his
retirement, then-Israel Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen said the force was bracing
“for the possibility of wide-scale disturbances” on Nakba Day.
“We are
preparing for the whole of the month of May,” Cohen said. “We’re looking at the
most severe scenarios.”
Intelligence and operational planners were
working together to ensure that security forces were prepared for the
possibility of major riots, Cohen added.