Police in Jerusalem's Old City during the second Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem's Old City, June 17, 2016. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
Police in Jerusalem were at the highest level of alert following a shooting attack on Friday in the South Hebron Hills and a day after Hallel Yaffa Ariel was stabbed to death in her home in Kiryat Arba in the West Bank on Thursday.
Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevi instructed more than 3,000 cops and Border Police officers to deploy throughout the capital ahead of the nighttime prayers set to take place at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the fourth and last Friday of Ramadan.
Last week’s prayers ended without incident, but Halevi on Friday instructed to deploy more officers following the terror attacks near Hebron for fear that the attacks may inspire more violence in Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem and Hebron have been the most volatile locations in the recent wave of Palestinian terrorism.
The mother and a younger sister of Hallel Yaffa Ariel mourning during her funeral ceremony in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, in the West Bank, on June 30, 2016. Earlier in the day, a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist broke into their home and stabbed and killed 13-year-old Hallel in her bedroom. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“We are on the highest alert and fully prepared ahead of the events of Laylat al-Qadr that will take place throughout the night and the early morning,” Halevi said, referring to the night on which Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
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“We have deployed widely all over Jerusalem to maintain the public peace and the safety of all residents. This deployment will continue over the weekend and will be weighed consistently according to periodical assessments we will make,” he said.
An Israeli car hit in a drive-by shooting near Hebron that killed Miki Mark on July 1, 2016 (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
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