Israel will close its doors Tuesday night for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, as security forces remain in an elevated state of readiness amid a record number of terror alerts ahead of the holiday.
The IDF will also impose closures in the West Bank and Gaza, a common practice on Jewish and Israeli holidays.
Security officials obtained more than 80 warnings or data on imaginable terror attacks as Jewish Israelis prepared to practice the day of fasting, according to Hebrew-language media. a criminal escape, and security forces were dealing with a series of knife attacks.
The security alerts came as Israel faces several security issues during the peak holiday season. Israeli troops have come under increasing fire in raids into the West Bank, and there have been repeated clashes in recent weeks between security forces and Palestinians in East and Old Jerusalem. In addition, there were several failed shooting attacks on Israelis in the West Bank last week.
According to Monday’s Thirteenth Channel, 26 army battalions will get reinforcements on Yom Kippur and thousands of Israeli soldiers will remain in the West Bank and along the security fence.
The number of battalions in the West Bank has shrunk from thirteen to 14 to 26 since March, when the army introduced Operation Breakwater in reaction to a wave of terror attacks that killed 19 Israelis between March and May.
More than 2,000 Palestinians have been arrested since the counterterrorism operation began in the spring and more than two hundred Palestinians have been killed in what has been the deadliest era in the West Bank in years.
Most of the dead are wanted by terrorists who opened fire, or young people who threw firebombs or rocks at children entering their neighborhoods. But several civilians who were not involved in any acts of violence were also killed.
Starting Tuesday afternoon, all flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport and Israeli airspace will be closed to short flights as Jewish Israelis celebrate Yom Kippur. Flights will resume Wednesday night. Border crossings will also be closed and reopen after Wednesday.
As Tuesday sunset approaches, all local radio and television broadcasts will be muted.
Public transport will also stop, with buses and trains interrupting their journeys until the end of the fasting day. Buses within the city and intercity transport will restart on Wednesday night.
Roads will be largely cleared of cars until early Tuesday night, as is the national tradition, to be replaced by a crowd of other people on bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. Driving on the Jewish Day of Atonement is taboo, and many secular Israelis have turned the day into a bicycle vacation, taking advantage of car-free roads.
For devout and classical Jews, the 25-hour era of fasting and prayer will have to begin at 5:45 p. m. m. in Jerusalem and at 6:01 p. m. It will end Wednesday at 6:55 p. m. and 6:57 p. m. , respectively.
Safety and rescue facilities will remain on high alert during the day.
For Magen David Adom’s rescue service and paramedics, Yom Kippur is one of the busiest days of the year with many more doctors, paramedics, ambulances and volunteers deployed across the country.
Most Yom Kippur injuries stem from injuries on the road, as tens of thousands of young people and teenagers take advantage of abandoned streets to ride bikes. dehydration and fasting headaches.
Last year, a 12-year-old boy was tragically killed by an alleged driving force while riding a bicycle, and an 11-year-old boy was seriously injured in a separate incident.
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