Israeli military wraps up weeklong military maneuvers

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli Air Force on Thursday evening concluded a weeklong drill that envisioned a two-front conflict on the country’s northern and southern borders, The Jerusalem Post has reported.

Hundreds of aircraft reportedly took part in the exercise, which was aimed at “increasing the military’s combat-readiness and enhancing its ability to respond to attacks”, the newspaper quoted an unnamed military source as saying.

Notably, the wargames concluded only one day before Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip are expected to hold mass demonstrations against Israel’s decades-long occupation.

Israel’s Channel 7 reported on Thursday that the army had been put on high alert for the last Friday of Ramadan in anticipation of large Palestinian demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel security fence.

The broadcaster went on to report that the army on Friday planned to beef up its troop presence along the security barrier.

Since Mar. 30, more than 120 Palestinian demonstrators in eastern Gaza have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by intense Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.