A leading Palestinian Muslim cleric has called on Palestinians to "be alert for possible infiltration of fanatic Jews" onto Jeruslaem's Temple Mount during Jerusalem Day celebrations on Sunday, Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported on Saturday, despite a rerouting of the parade by police to avoid Muslim-majority areas.
Sheikh Yousef Ideis, head of the Palestinian Territory's Muslim Sharia court, called on Palestinians to flood the Temple Mount on Sunday, which is a highly revered location for both Jews and Muslims, in order to be present should Jewish "fanatics decide to break into it," according to WAFA.
Police in Jerusalem announced this week that the annual Dance of Flags in honor of the national holiday - which marks the capture and unification of Jerusalem following the 1967 Six-Day War - will not pass through east Jerusalem or the Muslim Quarter due to disruptions during last year's march.
The parade, which in 2011 attracted up to 40,000 people and features live music and floats, will snake its way from King George Street in downtown Jeruaslem to Argon to the Old City, remaining in mostly Jewish-populated areas.
Last year, 24 people - the majority of them Jewish - were arrested and three wounded by flying rocks as Palestinians and Jews clashed during the parade.
Israeli police have called on Palestinian merchants whose shops lie in the path of the planned demonstration to keep their stores shuttered on Sunday in order to prevent possibly tense encounters with marchers, WAFA said. Jews taking part in Jerusalem Day's celebrations in previous years have vandalized Palestinian property and attacked individuals, according to the Palestinian report.
Jerusalem Post
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