Police reinforce capital, North amid concern over protests

Muslim men aged 45 and upwards will be granted free access to the Temple Mount, as will females of all ages, police spokesman says.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Border police training 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Border police training 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
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.