Israeli Flag March Leads to Violence Against Journalists and Tension in Jerusalem

Palestinian and foreign journalists faced violence while covering the Israeli Flag March, which began Thursday in East Jerusalem.

A number of the participants in the march threw stones, sticks and bottles at the journalists at the entrance to Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate), chanting racist slogans, including “Death to the Arabs”.

Jordan condemned Israel for allowing a member of its government and members of the Knesset, accompanied by extremists, to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to carry out “provocative” actions under the protection of the police, according to a statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry that included a warning of the worsening situation in Jerusalem.

An Israeli minister, accompanied by members of the Knesset and Jewish groups, crossed the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For its part, Hamas said in a statement that it “will not allow the Israeli occupation to pass a plan to extend its sovereignty or impose its control over Al-Aqsa Mosque by (encouraging) the settlers’ flag march, or (turning a blind eye) to the repeated incursions into it.”

Hamas spokesman, Abdul Latif Al-Qanou, called for mobilizing all the nation’s energies and mobilizing its people to support Al-Aqsa Mosque, preserve its identity, and thwart the occupation’s plans to divide it or extend control over it, as he put it.

More than a thousand Israelis from extremist Jewish groups stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning.

Thousands of Jewish nationalists flocked to the city center in West Jerusalem, to perform the flags dance on their way to the Muslim Quarter in the Old City, with the participation of the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich with the deployment of Israeli police.

Itamar Ben Gvir echoed the words: “Jerusalem is ours forever.”

Separate groups of Israelis carrying flags went out since the morning hours to the Old City, specifically Damascus Gate, and they were accompanied by Minister of Transportation and Member of Knesset for the Likud Party, Miri Regev.

The Israeli police responded to a protest organized by activists from the left-wing “Free Jerusalem” movement, which rejects the flag march in Jerusalem, after they blocked a street in the city, and the police announced that ten people have been arrested so far.

The Israeli police vowed to deal with cases of violations of the law, but blamed regional “terrorist elements” for what it said was “incitement to violence” against the flag march on social media.

Leaders in the Palestinian Authority described the march of Israeli flags as a “provocative act”, accusing the Israeli ministers of finance and national security of trying to “sow the seeds of conflict”.

Today, thousands of extremist Israelis roam the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, in what is known as the “flag march”, amid fears of an outbreak of violence with Palestinian factions.

Along the path of the march, Palestinians were forced to close the doors of their homes and shops, for fear of being harassed.

The flag march represents a show of force on the part of the Jewish nationalists, while on the other hand it represents a blatant provocation for the Palestinians, who see it as an attempt to nullify their relationship with the place.

The march, which usually witnesses dancing with Israeli flags and chanting of slogans, passes through the Muslim Quarter and the Damascus Gate area, which foreshadows a possible escalation between Israelis and Palestinians in the city, which is already experiencing tension.

The Israeli police approved the track last week, and said it plans to deploy about 2,500 policemen to protect the demonstrators, maintain order and secure the track.

The Israeli police set up posts near Damascus Gate, which is a popular gathering point for Palestinians, from where the Israeli flags march will enter the Old City.

On Wednesday, Itamar Ben Gvir said in a video message that the police will confront any attempt to spoil the celebrations. The far-right minister pledged that “the march of flags … the ascent of the Jews to the ‘Temple Mount’ will pass without anyone being exposed to danger or harm.”

Recent years have witnessed tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In 2021, the city of Jerusalem was subjected to missile strikes by the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the start of the march, which led to the dispersal of the crowds of its participants.

As a result, a military confrontation erupted between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, resulting in the death of no less than 250 people in the Strip and 13 in Israel.

In parallel with the Israeli flags march in Jerusalem, a march is planned to take place in the Gaza Strip on the border with Israel.

This year, the chances of escalation appear slim with the departure of the Flags March, especially since only days have passed since a truce was reached after a wave of violence between Israel and Hamas.

Egypt, which brokered this truce on Saturday, called on both Israel and the Palestinian factions to reduce the causes of tension before the date of the Flag March.

The Israeli hard-right celebrates what it calls “Jerusalem Unification Day,” the day when Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967, and the holy city fell entirely under Israeli control.

In addition to deploying thousands of police officers to secure the flag march, the Israeli government prevents Palestinians – who are not residents of the Old City – from entering it on this day, and imposes the closure of all Palestinian shops in the Old City.

The Israeli march usually starts from the center of western Jerusalem, then enters the Old City, passing through the Muslim Quarter. The march ends at the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque (Al-Buraq Wall for Muslims and the Wailing Wall for Jews).

The Israeli Flags March celebrations began in 1974, but were halted between 2010 and 2016 due to the clashes that erupted between the participants in the march on the one hand, and the Palestinians on the other.

Alongside the Palestinians, many Israelis see this celebration as an act of provocation by nationalist groups and hard-line settler movements, especially their passage through the Muslim Quarter.