Far-right Israelis shut down Jerusalem’s Old City with flag march

occupy East Jerusalem – “We need an annual day to remind the Arabs that we are in power [Old City’s Muslim Quarter] … If we took a different route, they would think they rule this area.”

The speaker, a teenager who did not give his name, was one of thousands of young protesters who joined his Yeshiva (Jewish religious high school) on Thursday.

The event, held on “Jerusalem Day,” marking the 1967 capture and annexation of East Jerusalem, an action considered illegal under international law, has sparked violence in recent years, with far-right Israelis shouting provocative slogans and insults, as well as physically assaulting Palestinians and even journalists.

Among those in attendance, there is an undeniable sense of Jewish supremacy and a passionate religious vocation that underpins the march.

Before the procession gathered at the Damascus Gate and then snaked through the old city, hundreds of ultra-nationalists entered the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, even as ultra-Orthodox Jews distributed pamphlets explaining that Jewish law prohibited them from going upstairs. to go.

However, the religious Zionist Jews, some of whom wear shirts with inflammatory messages, have flouted that ban, leading to the tense situations that marked their arrival at Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol. greet often.

Palestinian Muslims sitting at the Qibli Mosque on the grounds chanted to the far-right Israelis, while others sat quietly reading the Koran.

By the time the main event started, at about 4pm (1pm GMT) in the afternoon, many streets in the normally bustling old town were empty, and Palestinian shopkeepers were largely heeding Israeli police recommendations to close their businesses for the day. Close. avoid any confrontation with the demonstrators.

And yet, despite efforts by the estimated 2,500 police officers to stop incidents, some scuffles inevitably occurred.

A man, an Italian supporter of the Palestinian cause who wore a keffiyeh scarf around his neck, was harassed by Israeli protesters, one of whom threatened to kill him.

However, the police were largely able to prevent more serious fighting from taking place, largely by keeping the far-right demonstrators away from everyone else.

Jewish power

People attending the march seemed eager to show off the Israeli government’s tolerance and even active encouragement of their position, especially with the presence of Israeli ministers and politicians throughout the day, including far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is the first cabinet minister who once attended the march. Later, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was also present.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the march “a wonderful day to celebrate our return to our eternal capital”.

But Eliyahu, a protester from Gush Etzion who was part of a group called the Jewish Truth — formed by a group that considers itself even more far-right than Ben-Gvir — said the minister should resign.

“Ben-Gvir has abandoned the truth,” Eliyahu said. “He must leave the government.”

For Eliyahu, the event was an opportunity to openly display his far-right position and sing in support of the deportation of Palestinians from their homeland.

“I feel joy because we have occupied a large part of our land, [but] i feel very sad [we cannot go to Al-Aqsa]Eliyahu said, before adding that his favorite chant was “Kahane Was Right,” a reference to the late ultra-nationalist rabbi Meir Kahane, who inspired the Jewish gunman who killed 29 Palestinians in the massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994, and founded Kach, a party later declared a “terrorist” organization in Israel.

“We have to transfer the Arabs,” Eliyahu said. “We should have shut down Gaza last week.”

“Kahane was right,” along with “Death to the Arabs,” was a common refrain from many, but not all, protesters, who raised thousands of Israeli flags and shouted through loudspeakers throughout the day.

Palestinians stayed away

Across the Damascus Gate, where thousands of Jewish Israelis sang euphorically, dozens of Palestinian shops, markets and restaurants were closed to the public, similar to the situation in the Old City itself.

A Palestinian Christian shopkeeper told Al Jazeera that the shops were closed to prevent vandalism by those attending the march.

Leading up to the event, there were fears they could lead to wider violence as the situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza is already tense, after more than a year of near-daily Israeli raids that have left hundreds of Palestinians dead. and a four-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza that left at least 33 Palestinians and one Israeli dead.

For Palestinians, events such as the flag march serve as a reminder of the ongoing occupation and treatment many now call “apartheid.”

“We Palestinians are getting the message that this is the day they celebrate for us,” said Fakhri Abu Diab, a community leader in East Jerusalem whose al-Bustan community was demolished by Israeli authorities.

Abu Diab had been detained in Al-Aqsa earlier on Thursday while being interviewed by an Israeli media outlet.

He said he was later released, but not before being told he was banned from the old city for the rest of the day.

“They don’t want me to talk on this day of their party — not even to Israeli media,” Abu Diab said. “They prefer that we stay in our homes and not disturb their victory celebration.”