Ramadan tensions: Security forces on high alert in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria

The government has eased entry for thousands of Gazans and Palestinians to visit Israel during Ramadan.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s security forces are on high alert ahead of the start of the Islamic month long Ramadan holiday, with the military boosting its troop presence in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem police gearing up for large influxes of Muslim worshippers on Fridays at the Temple Mount.

Despite an uptick in terror attacks that has seen 15 Israelis murdered and dozens more wounded since the beginning of 2023, the government has eased entry for thousands of Gazans and Palestinians to visit Israel during Ramadan.

While exact numbers regarding the numbers of visitors permits issued to Gazans has not been made public, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that additional permissions will be granted to women over the age of 50 and men over the age of 55 from the coastal enclave.

For residents of Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria, entry to Israel will be even easier. Women of all ages, children 12 years old and younger, and men over the age of 55 will be permitted to visit Jerusalem and the Temple Mount without visitors’ permits.

PA Arabs will also be granted additional permits to visit their family members who live in Israel.

Israel’s security apparatus has acknowledged that the entry of tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors from PA-controlled areas and Gaza pose a potential security risk, and are looking to mitigate the threat by deploying additional police and security forces in Jerusalem.

After a landmine explosion on the Lebanese border and a roadside bombing in Israel’s north perpetrated by a terrorist who infiltrated Israel from Lebanon, security officials are increasingly concerned about the threat from Hezbollah.

Numerous senior military officials have warned that Israel’s next war will likely see attacks emanating from multiple fronts, such as rocket bombardments from Gaza on Israel’s southern communities while missiles targeting northern communities are launched from Lebanon.