About 3,000 police and Border Patrol officers were deployed to Jerusalem starting early Thursday morning, with most being placed in eastern parts of the city that seen seen most of the violence in past weeks, over concerns that Arab riots will continue to rage in the capital.

Police will also bolster their presence around the Old City alleys and near the Western Wall. 

The concern of riots follows the funeral of terrorist Mu’taz Hijazi, would-be assassin of Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, which was held in the late hours of Thursday night. 

Glick, who founded and heads the LIBA Initiative for Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount, was shot outside of Jerusalem’s Begin Center on Wednesday night. He was rushed to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center in critical condition, where his condition has continued to improve after several surgeries.

Hijazi’s funeral took place in the neighborhood of Shiloah (Silwan) in eastern Jerusalem, despite the threat of riots. It was attended by 45 family members only and was under heavy security. The funeral ended relatively quietly with the dispersion of the participants. 

Hours later, police are standing by on red alert because of the prayer services to be held on the Temple Mount.  

While the Mount was closed to both Jews and Muslims on Thursday, Jerusalem District Commander Moshe (Chico) Edri bowed to international pressure to re-open the Mount to Muslims on Friday. 

However, after the Jerusalem police received intelligence about the intentions of young Arabs to riot at the end of Friday’s prayers, Edri decided than only men over the age of 50 will be able to pray on the Temple Mount. Women of any age are also allowed to enter. 

Preparing for the “day of rage”

Leading to the heightened alert on Friday is that fact that on Thursday, Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction called for an official “day of rage” in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, while praising the assassination attempt on Glick. 

The official website of the recruitment department of Fatah expressed outrage at the killing of the terrorist, which they say is “illegal assassination” by Israeli security forces. Hijazi was killed in a shootout with police, as he tried to resist arrest.

Fatah Secretary-General in Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, told the Palestinian Arab Ma’an News Agency that the police’s killing of Hijazi, without offering him the possibility to defend himself against evidence, is “an act of terrorism.”