Israel boosts security for Yom Kippur

Security forces have been reinforced and placed on high alert for the Yom Kippur festival which begins Tuesday night and the Moslem Eid El Adha which starts Wednesday night, as Palestinian stone-throwing and firebomb attacks continue. Judea and Samaria will be sealed to traffic from Tuesday noon to Wednesday midnight, after a day and night during which Israeli vehicles, including buses and fire engines, were struck by rocks on highway, causing some injuries.

The police presence in the Arab and mixed districts of Jerusalem has been stepped up and the Old City lanes leading to the Western Wall and Temple Mount are heavily patrolled. Muslim male access to Temple Mount has been restricted to men over 40, following information of youths preparing violent disturbances to coincide with Jewish Yom Kippur prayers at the Western Wall. Monday night, police arrested 21 Palestinian stone- and firebomb throwers  caught in the act in Jerusalem – some of them minors, most in the restive neighborhoods of Issawiyeh, Shoafat and Jebel Mulaber.

Public transport across the country will be shut down in stages from the 15:00 Tuesday and restored after 20:30 Wednesday night.
Magen David first aid services will remain on a high state of preparedness during the festival..