IOF deploy 3,200 soldiers ahead of provocative 'Flag March'

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The Israeli entity will deploy over 3,200 police officers in occupied Al-Quds in preparations for the "Flag March" scheduled on Thursday, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

Some reports indicated that the Israeli occupation army has also deployed the Iron Dome system in Al-Quds over fears of rocket launches by the Resistance in Gaza during the march.

The measures include "the adoption of technology as well as overt and covert police officers," the media outlets added. 

The Israeli i24 News website reported that the occupation police announced their readiness amid calls for Palestinians in Al-Quds to raise Palestinian flags in response to the Israeli march.

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In the event that the Palestinians of Al-Quds carried out their march, the occupation police will work to ensure that it does not go beyond Salah Al-Din Street facing the Damascus Gate, the report said, adding that "the [Israeli] march will not pass through the courtyards of Al-Aqsa despite the false publications and incitement attempts."

The heightened police alert comes in light of an image published by Al-Qassam Brigades on Tuesday evening illustrating Al-Aqsa mosque with rockets passing over it, with a written text: "The sword of Al-Quds... will not be sheathed."

#عاجل | كتائب القسام عبر تليجرام: "سيف القدس لن يُغمد" pic.twitter.com/u0eSApvSuM

— قناة الأقصى الفضائية (@SerajSat) May 16, 2023

Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan warned the Israeli occupation against crossing the red lines in the "flags march" in occupied Al-Quds, adding that "ending the [Gaza] confrontation before the flags march in Al-Quds does not mean that the confrontation cannot erupt again if Israel crosses the red lines."

Hamdan pointed out that "there is an Israeli attempt to create a media uproar about the march of flags in order to cover up the failure of its aggression on the Gaza Strip." 

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Head of Hamas National Relations Abroad, Ali Baraka, said on Tuesday that “any violation of our red lines will mean that the Resistance will have a say,” calling on Palestinians to attend the morning prayers in Al-Aqsa, warning that the march is a “provocation to the Palestinian people and a violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa.”

Israeli Walla! News website reported earlier that sources in the security and military establishment warned against irresponsible statements that might incite violence in response: specifically referring to the customary speeches associating the "Flag March" with "Temple Mount".

The report added that the security and military establishment fears an attack of a salvo of rockets, especially in the wake of recent escalation.  

The Times of Israel also reported that the Israeli police are on high alert to deal with any retaliation and even rocket fire during the upcoming "Flag March".

"Israel's" provocative "Flag March" has been ongoing for years. It is a customary celebration of "Jerusalem Day" commemorating the complete occupation of Al-Quds back in 1967. A common feature of the march is the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim slogans chanted by the protesters.