The Israeli military will close all border crossings with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from Tuesday to Friday, ahead of the Jewish state's memorial and independence days.
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The crossings will be shut starting on Tuesday afternoon – Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism – through Thursday night, after Independence Day, the IDF said Sunday.
The closure is expected to be lifted pending a security situation assessment. Exceptions will be made for medical and humanitarian cases, the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories clarified.
The Israel Police announced Sunday that some 2,500 additional troops will deploy in Jerusalem during Memorial Day and Independence Day. Increased presence on the ground will focus on cemeteries, the Old City, the city center, and other known flashpoints in the capital.
The Jerusalem District Police are on high alert especially near the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, which ushers in the Eid al-Fitr holiday, is considered especially volatile.
Also on Sunday, the Israel Police earmarked 11,000 troops to secure this year's Lag B'Omer festival on Mount Meron as part of its redeployment for the event in the wake of last year's tragedy.
Forty-five people were killed and over 150 were injured on April 29 in a stampede during a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, where tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.
The police also plan to deploy drones to provide a special command and control center with an aerial view of the compound throughout the May 15 festival, which over 150,000 are expected to attend, at all times.
The military has placed Unit 669 – the Israel Air Force's search-and-rescue unit – on alert ahead of the festival and will provide the police with any assistance necessary.
Meanwhile, senior police officials urged the government to make budgeting the department a national priority, citing a gross shortage in manpower.
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"The police are required to carry out missions that require manpower that currently is simply available," a senior police official said.
Police forces are "beyond stretched thin – and this is before Pope Francis and the US President Joe Biden arrive in June. These security details will require tens of thousands of people given their international sensitivity and security realities on the ground."
