The Israel Defense Forces deployed the Iron Dome aerial defense system in Jerusalem on Tuesday in response to threats by Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization aimed at preventing Israel from holding its traditional Jerusalem Day Flag Parade this coming Thursday.
Social media posts in Arabic noted the deployment.
There is concern that Hamas might decide in response to ongoing pressure from Iran, its generous benefactor, to fire rockets at the Israeli capital as the terror group did in May 2021 just as the Flag Parade was set to begin. At that time, the rocket fire from Gaza touched off a mini war between Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel that lasted 11 days and included attacks by Israeli Arabs on their Jewish neighbors in mixed-population Israeli cities.
Arabs Issue ‘Great Dawn’ Call, Hoping to Stop Jerusalem Day Flag Parade
In light of the threats by Hamas to “confront” the Flag Parade, the IDF has prepared an updated target bank to be used if rockets are fired and Israel Police are preparing to deploy more than 3,000 officers on the day of the march.
In addition, Egyptian sources have said Cairo plans to send a delegation to Gaza with the aim of “stabilizing” the ceasefire reached last Saturday night.
The Jerusalem Day Flag Parade has also prompted Arabs to call upon Muslim worshipers to attend dawn prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount to “protect the Al Aqsa Mosque and its presence” from the Jewish marchers.
But the route of the parade does not go to the Temple Mount and never has. Marchers sing and dance their way from the city center, through the various quarters in the Old City of Jerusalem (including the Muslim Quarter), concluding with a rally at the Western Wall Plaza.
Iran has been, for some time, pressuring Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah in Lebanon to establish a “joint operational mechanism” to coordinate activities against Israel.
Tehran is working to establish a shared operational headquarters in southern Lebanon for this alliance of its terrorist proxies, known as the “Jerusalem Axis,” to coordinate rocket attacks on the Jewish State.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which was embroiled in a five-day conflict with Israel last week (Operation Shield and Arrow), receives at least $100 million annually from Iran. Last week, Iran urged PIJ to extend its conflict with Israel, and promised to give the group $5 million for each day that it did so. Egypt nevertheless managed to broker a ceasefire that ended the conflict in five days.
