The Times of Israel reports: Israeli security forces are preparing for clashes with Palestinian protesters for a second consecutive Friday following last week’s announcement by US President Donald Trump that the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Hundreds of additional IDF soldiers will be deployed across the West Bank and on the Gaza border in anticipation of demonstrations against the US move, expected to follow Friday noon-time prayers. Clashes are also expected in Jerusalem but following relative clam in the capital last week, police are again planning not to impose any age restrictions on Muslim worshipers praying on the Temple Mount. At times of expected violence, Israeli authorities sometimes limit access to the site for young men.
In an address last week from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.
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