Moscow [Russia], July. 21 (ANI): Due to the possible Palestinian unrest on Friday, the Israeli Army has formed additional battalions to beef up security on the Temple Mount and West Bank.
On Fridays, thousands of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs usually gather the Temple Mount to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israeli authorities expect that many of them will refuse to go through the detectors and start clashing with police.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service said that Israeli military expects Friday will become a culmination day for protests of local Palestinian communities against metal detectors installed at the entrances to the Temple Mount, which is the third holiest site in Islam, reports Sputnik.
"Following the assessment of the situation carried out by the General Staff today, a decision was taken to use five battalions as an emergency reserve on the eve of Friday," the press service said.
The reserve battalions have been in a state of standby, however, the decision to actually deploy them may be changed after the situation is measured again. (ANI)
This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI