What may be the highlight of yomtov for many visitors is a major security event for ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) Director Yuval Diskin and Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco. Seeking to prepare for the Monday morning event, the two met on Har HaBayis on Sunday, planning their strategy under the threat of renewed Islamic violence in and around Jerusalem’s Old City.

Thousands of police, border police and special units will be deployed on Monday in the Greater Old City area, including Arab villages in the eastern capital, with police determined to have the event pass without incident following days of Arab violence in the areas mentioned.

Tens of thousands of mispalalim are expected to attend the Birchas Kohanim on the second day Chol Hamoed, and security officials are confident they will succeed in ensuring the day’s event passes without incident.

In the meantime, Islamic clerics and leaders are working in earnest to bring many supports to Har HaBayis, seeking to ensure non-Muslims are not permitted to visit as well as to flex their political muscle, sending a clear message to Israel that the Temple Mount belongs to the Islamic Waqf and the Muslim people, not the Jewish People.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)