Thousands of Israelis, mostly ultranationalists, took part in an annual march through a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem’s Old City, with some protesters chanting “Death to the Arabs”.
Jerusalem has been largely calm during Israel’s war in Gaza, but the march could trigger widespread tensions, as it did three years ago when it helped trigger an 11-day war in Gaza.
Protesters gathered in front of Damascus Gate, normally a central meeting point for Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, and chanted anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans, danced and waved Israeli flags at the start of the procession.
Shortly before the start of the march, crowds fought with police and threw plastic bottles at a journalist wearing a vest with the word PRESS on it. Some shouted “Muhammad is dead!” referring to the Islamic prophet.
The march took place at a time when tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza were high.
The annual march commemorates “Jerusalem Day,” which marks Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital, but the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized internationally. Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, see the march as a provocation.
In previous years, police forcibly removed Palestinians from the parade route and large crowds of young people, mostly ultranationalists, shouted “Death to the Arabs”, “May your village burn” and other offensive slogans. Police said they were deploying 3,000 security personnel to ensure calm.
At the insistence of Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, the march will follow its traditional route, entering the Old City’s Muslim Quarter through the Damascus Gate and ending at the Western Wall. , the most sacred place. where Jews can pray.
As buses bringing young Jews to the march crowded around the centuries-old walls of the Old City, Palestinian shopkeepers closed the doors of the Muslim Quarter in preparation.
Police stressed that the march would not enter the sprawling Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, Islam’s third holiest site.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
