Army Commando Trainees Reinforce Police Officers in Tel Aviv as Mideast Tensions Remain High

Jerusalem, 10 April, 2023 (TPS) -- With Israeli-Palestinian tensions rising, a company of Israeli military commandos in training were deployed in Tel Aviv to reinforce police on Monday.

Defense Minister Yoav Galant ordered the deployment on Saturday night. Israel often orders soldiers to bolster police forces during periods of escalating violence.

The soldiers are all part of the 89th “Oz” Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, also known as the “Commando Brigade.” Training for the elite brigade takes 60 weeks.

In recent days, Israel was attacked by rocket fire from both Gaza and Lebanon, intercepted a suspected Iranian drone from Syria and forced to confront Islamist Palestinians barricaded inside the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

In addition, two British-Israeli sisters, Maya and Rina Dee were killed in a drive-by shooting in the northern Jordan Valley while Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was killed by Arab-Israeli who rammed his car into pedestrians on a Tel Aviv seaside promenade. Another seven people — tourists from Italy and Britain — were injured.

Further adding to the tensions is the overlap of the Islamic month of Ramadan with the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter.