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Israeli police placed 12,000 officers on high alert across the country-concentrated mainly in Jerusalem and the North-Friday, Jan 2, Day 7 of the Gaza operation. Military contingents on the West Bank have been beefed up after 60 warnings were received. They are braced for Hamas attempts to stir up violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank and for clashes between Friday prayers worshippers and police around the mosques. Admission al Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount restricted to men over 50 and women.Ashkelon, 17km north of Gaza took the brunt of Palestinian attacks. Of the 7 Grad Katyushas striking the port city, two were direct hits slightly injuring two people. The air force hit the Gaza launchers. Several missiles and rockets exploded at Netivot, Shear Hanegev and Negev fields.Israel sees Friday as a test for the US-trained Palestinian security forces handed responsibility for security in several West Bank towns including Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. An Israeli source said that to establish their credibility they may need to exercise force to quell mob outbreaks. Otherwise, the violence will spread and ignite the entire West Bank, in which case Israel troops would have to be called in. To be on the safe side, the IDF ordered the West Bank sealed Thursday midnight.A heavy Egyptian ring of security forces has been drawn around the Gaza border with orders to open fire on Palestinians escaping to Sinai from Israeli attacks. Mounting tension in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli ground incursion has driven thousands of northerners to head south toward the Egyptian border.Early Friday, after wiping out Hamas command centers and bases and 80 percent of their weapons tunnels in six days, the Israeli air force bombed the homes of 20 high-profile leaders and officers. An Israeli military source said: "After Nizar Ariyan was killed in an air strike Thursday night, every Ezz e-Din al Qassam brigade and battalion commander knows he stands to lose his family home."The panic in Hamas ranks has spread to the Palestinian street.Friday, Israel bombed another Gaza mosque used as a weapons depot. Egypt asked Israel to refrain from targeting mosques – even if they are weapons stores - so as not to inflame world Muslims.http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5816
As in the days of Noah....
