Israel Police make arrests before Peres funeral, including Jews
As a part of preparations for protecting former President Peres's funeral, a wave of pre-emptive arrests have been carried out; amongst those arrested are Jews; Alsheikh: 'You can count the number of arrests on one hand.'
Israel Police Commissioner Ronny Alsheikh revealed in a press conference before Shimon Peres's funeral that several people have been arrested for planning to attack the funeral procession, including Jews.
World leaders and royalty will be participating in the funeral procession and the funeral itself.
"We are dedicating all of our efforts due to the holidays, and with no connection to the funeral. We've made preventative arrests of various people and suspects to mitigate the chances of a disruption to the funeral – including Jews," Alsheikh said.
"There were a small number of arrests," he continued. "You can count them all on one hand."
He went on to say that there are no specific threats to the funeral, but are preparing for any type of incident – from terror to political provocation.
Hundreds of police officers will take part in the operation to secure Shimon Peres's funeral, and will include both uniformed and plain clothes officers who will be able to blend into the crowd.
Lior Akerman, former deputy head of the Shin Bet and intelligence and terrorism expert, explained, "The Shin Bet is primarily responsible for personal protection such as the prime minister, president, and Israeli government ministers. It is also responsible for the protection other heads of states, in cooperation with foreign security services and their embassies. The Shin Bet is aware of all security arrangements, down to the exact number of body guards, and who is carrying a weapon."
