Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-10-04

Israeli police are on high alert to avert possible clashes as Muslim and Jews prepare to observe their major holidays of Eid ul-Adha and Yom Kippur which overlap this year for the first time in more than three decades.

Reinforced police contingents had been deployed across Israel as a precaution against sectarian violence, said police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Concerns were particularly high in the four Israeli cities with significant Muslim minorities: Jerusalem, the Tel Aviv twin city of Jaffa — Yafo in Hebrew — and also in Haifa and Acre.

In a related development, the military said it had closed off the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a general security measure, a common practice during major Jewish holidays.

Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day, begins at sunset Friday and ends on Saturday night.

Eid ul-Adha commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ebrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son Ismaeel (AS) in accordance with Allah’s command, though in the end Allah Almighty provides him a sheep to sacrifice instead.

On the day of Eid ul-Adha, Muslims slaughter sheep, cattle and other livestock, and give part of the meat to the poor.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)