JERUSALEM, May 8, 2011 (WAFA) - The Jerusalem municipality has begun preparing for 15 May, Israel’s independence day, by imposing closure and harassing shop owners in Jerusalem’s old city.

Municipality employees, guarded by soldiers, broke into Arab shops in the old city and forcefully painted their facades in blue as per the Israeli flag.

Israel also provocatively raised large flags on several public buildings in Salah el-Din street and Sheikh Jarrah, both Arab neighborhoods.

It completely isolated Jerusalem, preventing movement in and out of the city, and increased its military presence in Jerusalem’s surroundings and near the Seperation Wall.

Soldiers blocked the entrance of the town of Silwan, south of Jerusalem, while settlers made their way to the Western Wall to commemorate the memory of Israel’s dead in its wars.

M.N./F.J.