Israel Police announced Friday afternoon that the elevated security effect will likely remain in effect until Monday, with several dozen warnings currently standing of terror cells seeking to perpetrate a terror attack. According to the police, there are currently 80 general warnings of terror plots, a fourth of which are specific.
The alert level was upped to 6 - its maximum - on Wednesday of last week following a botched artillery shelling in the Gaza Strip that left 19 Palestinian civilians dead. Leaders of the terrorist organizations, including exiled supreme leader of Hamas, Khaled Maashal, called for a renewal of suicide bombings inside of Israel proper.
Police declared a general closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the weekend. Friday prayers at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem's Old City were restricted to prevent a flare up at the site, sacred to Muslims and Jews alike.
The alert level was lowered Friday afternoon following the uneventful conclusion of the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, which authorities had feared would become violent following threats by the ultra-orthodox community in the capital to stop the march "at all costs."
