Israeli military forces carried out unprecedented drills on Friday in East Jerusalem’s Arab Silwan district, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The armed forces consisted of four-wheel drive military vehicles and those small enough to fit into alleys as well as fire trucks and ambulances.
It entered Silwan’s Wadi Hulwa neighborhood, the main entrance to Silwan and closest point to Al-Aqsa Mosque, at 1am, said Fahkri Abu Diab, a member of the Silwan defense committee.
Abu Diab warned that Israeli forces had plans to simulate popular protests in Silwan that could erupt in response to plans to displace all or some of the 1,600 residents of Silwan’s Bustan neighborhood for the interests of biblical parks and other projects promoting beliefs related to the supposed rebuilding of King of Solomon’s temple.
