Israel on alert ahead of US embassy move, Nakba Day

Israel has made large scale security arrangements ahead of next week’s US embassy move to Jerusalem and the anniversary of Nakba Day.

According to Israel’s Channel 2, on Monday – when the US embassy is due to be inaugurated in occupied Jerusalem and when Israelis will be celebrating “independence” – police plan to create a wall of security officers and snipers and to deploy helicopters for surveillance in the neighbourhood where the embassy is located.

The call to prayer will also be banned in Jerusalem while the ceremony takes place at the new embassy.

A number of Palestinian factions have called for a general strike on Monday and for people to come and protect against America’s unilateral move.

Read: Israel bans Al-Aqsa Imam from entering West Bank

Last December, US President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel, and announced that he would transfer his country’s embassy to the holy city.

Dozens of events are planned to celebrate “Israeli independence”, the largest of which is the Israeli flags march in which more than 20,000 people are expected to participate. Channel 2 reported that participants will surround the occupied Old City of Jerusalem before heading to the Western (Buraq) Wall.

Palestinians will mark Nakba Day – when nearly a million were forced to flee their homes to make way for the formation of the state of Israel – on Tuesday.