Thousands of Israeli religious nationalists have paraded through Muslim parts of the Old City of Jerusalem in the annual Flag Day march, an event that threatens to trigger further violence in the Israel-Hamas war.
The march, in which Israelis enter the Muslim quarter through the highly symbolic Damascus Gate and walk to the Western Wall waving the national flag, takes place around sunset on what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, marking the capture and occupation of the eastern half of the city and its holy sites in the war of 1967. Control of Jerusalem is at the centre of the decades-old conflict, and the Israeli takeover is not recognised internationally.
The parade is often marred by anti-Arab hate speech and vandalism of Palestinian property, as well as violent clashes between marchers and Palestinian residents of the Old City, who see it as deeply provocative. Violence at the same event three years ago helped spark the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.
Hamas warned Israel in a statement on Wednesday “against the consequences of continuing these criminal policies against our sanctities, at the heart of which is the blessed al-Aqsa mosque”, urging Palestinians to take part in a “day of anger”.
But after teenagers and young men wearing Jewish religious-nationalist clothing, some of them army reservists carrying pistols and rifles, arrived at Damascus Gate in the early afternoon on Wednesday, Palestinian residents began to close up their businesses. Almost everyone retreated to the safety of their homes, shuttering doors and windows.
Several clashes between marchers and Palestinians, leftwing Israeli activists and journalists were reported as the afternoon wore on, despite a heavy police presence of 3,000 uniformed and plainclothes officers. Jeers of “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn” rang through the stone walls of the Old City as marchers chanted and danced.
Ori, 18, attending the parade, said: “These guys are Christians and Muslims. They don’t like us and we don’t like them. Today is about celebrating the return of the Jews to Jerusalem after 2,000 years. We are showing them who owns this place.”
Adil, a 71-year-old Palestinian taking the long way home through the maze of narrow streets to avoid the parade route, said: “Every year this is difficult, but this year is even harder … Everyone is scared.”
This year, the Jerusalem Day parade is under the control of Israel’s far-right and anti-Arab national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in his role as head of police. He was expected to join the celebrations towards their culmination at sunset.
He told Army Radio on Tuesday: “We will march … and Jews will go up to the Temple Mount. All the generals in Gaza tell me that every house they enter they see [pictures of] the Temple Mount, so they should be hit in the place that is most important to them.”
The Temple Mount, known as al-Haram al-Sharif or al-Aqsa in Arabic, a raised, walled complex in the heart of the Old City, is the holiest place in Judaism and third holiest in Islam. It has long been a flashpoint for violence, but has remained unusually quiet since the war broke out in October as Israel has allowed only Palestinian men over 55 and women over 50 to access the site. The traditional Jerusalem Day parade route does not pass through it.
Under the terms of a compromise agreement, Jews are allowed to visit, but not pray there. In recent years, however, growing numbers of Jewish visitors, sometimes praying or with police escorts, have inflamed longstanding Palestinian fears that Israel plans to annex the area, which is administered by Jordan. Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party advocates for Jewish sovereignty over the site.
Naomi, 22, said: “I wouldn’t come here on a normal day because it isn’t so secure, but I always come on Jerusalem Day. This year it is more meaningful than ever.”
Estimated attendance figures for the march were not immediately available, but the numbers seemed set to exceed the unusually high turnout of 70,000 people in 2022. Police said 1,500 Jews had visited the Temple Mount by 5pm – far more than an average day – and that five people had been arrested for attacking journalists.
Some Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount were arrested for attempting to pray, police said, without giving details. Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the nearby volatile East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan also broke out during the afternoon.
About 1,200 Israelis were killed and another 250 taken hostage in Hamas’s 7 October attack, which triggered the latest war between the two sides. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ensuing retaliatory operation in Gaza.
A new ceasefire and hostage deal endorsed by Joe Biden has been presented to Hamas by mediators, but it is unclear whether much progress has been made: the two sides are still far apart on issues such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip. An initial truce in November broke down after a week.