Chanting ‘Death to Arabs,’ Israeli nationalists begin an annual march in Jerusalem
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Israeli nationalists chant ‘Death to Arabs’ during Jerusalem Day march
Israeli nationalists and religious Jews on Monday marked Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israel’s 1967 capture of east Jerusalem. Some chanted “Death to Arabs” while marching through Muslim neighborhoods. Protesters, including an Israeli member of parliament, also reportedly stormed a compound belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Police said they had detained a number of individuals, without specifying, and “acted swiftly to prevent violence, confrontations, and provocations”
As Israeli nationalists and religious Jews on Monday marked Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israel’s 1967 capture of east Jerusalem, some chanted “Death to Arabs” while marching through Muslim neighborhoods. Protesters, including an Israeli member of parliament, also reportedly stormed a compound belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Chanting “Death to Arabs” and singing “May your village burn,” groups of young Israeli Jews made their way through Muslim neighborhoods of Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday ahead of an annual march marking Israel’s conquest of the eastern part of the city.
Palestinian shopkeepers had closed up early and police lined the narrow alleys ahead of the march that often becomes a rowdy and sometimes violent procession of ultranationalist Jews. A policeman raised his arms in celebration at one point, recognising a marcher and going in for a hug.
A small group of protesters, including an Israeli member of parliament, meanwhile, stormed a compound in east Jerusalem belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
Tensions high
Jerusalem lies at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, who each see the city as a key part of their national and religious identity. It is one of the most intractable issues of the conflict and often emerges as a flashpoint.
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Police said they had detained a number of individuals, without specifying, and “acted swiftly to prevent violence, confrontations, and provocations.”
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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Chanting ‘Death to Arabs,’ Israeli nationalists gather for annual march in Jerusalem
The march commemorates Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. It often becomes a rowdy and sometimes violent procession of ultranationalist Jews. The event threatened to inflame tensions rife in the restive city amid nearly 600 days of war in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “preserve a united, whole Jerusalem’ “This is our home, this is our state,” one protester shouted at a Palestinian woman.“Go away from here!” she responded, in Hebrew. “There are truly many Jews flooding the Temple Mount. How nice to see that,’ one Israeli lawmaker said, draped in the Israeli flag and praying there.’ “Today, thank God, it is possible to pray on the Temple Temple, the prime minister said. “We are marking a holiday for Jerusalem,“ Ben-Gvir said, accompanied by other lawmakers and a rabbi.
Palestinian shopkeepers closed early and police lined the alleys ahead of the march that often becomes a rowdy and sometimes violent procession of ultranationalist Jews. A police officer raised his arms in celebration at one point, hugging a marcher. It was blazing hot, with temperatures hitting 98 degrees Fahrenheit in late afternoon.
Police kept a close watch as demonstrators jumped, danced and sang.
Hours earlier, a small group of protesters, including an Israeli member of parliament, stormed a compound in east Jerusalem belonging to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
The 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 Mideast war. The event threatened to inflame tensions that are rife in the restive city amid nearly 600 days of war in Gaza.
Jerusalem lies at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Each sees the city as a key part of their national and religious identity. It is one of the most intractable issues of the conflict and is often a flashpoint.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal, undivided capital. Its annexation of east Jerusalem is not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Last year’s procession, during the first year of the war in Gaza, saw ultranationalist Israelis attack a Palestinian journalist in the Old City and call for violence against Palestinians. Four years ago, the march helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza.
Tour buses carrying young ultranationalist Jews lined up near entrances to the Old City, bringing hundreds from outside Jerusalem, including settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Police, who called the procession the “Dance of Flags,” said they had detained a number of people and “acted swiftly to prevent violence, confrontations and provocations.”
Speaking in an east Jerusalem archaeological park located in a Palestinian neighborhood, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “preserve a united, whole Jerusalem, and the sovereignty of Israel.” He said the government was encouraging foreign embassies to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and investing billions of shekels in the city’s development.
Volunteers from the pro-peace organization Standing Together and the Free Jerusalem collective, which works with Palestinians in Jerusalem, tried to position themselves between the marchers and residents to prevent violence.
One shopkeeper swept the floor after marchers tipped over his bale of bay leaves. A group of young Jewish Israelis followed a Palestinian woman through the streets, calling her “charmouta” — Arabic for “whore.”
“This is our home, this is our state,” one protester shouted at a Palestinian woman.
“Go away from here!” she responded, in Hebrew.
Increased Jewish visits to a flashpoint holy site
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the country’s police force, visited a hilltop compound holy to Jews and Muslims, where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located. One Israeli lawmaker, Yitzhak Kroizer, could be seen praying.
Perceived encroachments by Jews on the site have set off widespread violence on a number of occasions going back decades.
“We are marking a holiday for Jerusalem,” Ben-Gvir said, accompanied by other lawmakers and a rabbi. “There are truly many Jews flooding the Temple Mount. How nice to see that.”
Beyadenu, an activist group that encourages Jewish visits to the site, said dozens of people had ascended to the compound draped in the Israeli flag, and had prayed there.
Since Israel captured the site in 1967, a tenuous understanding between Israeli and Muslim religious authorities at the compound has allowed Jews — who revere the site as the Temple Mount, the location of the biblical temples — to visit but not pray there.
Ben-Gvir said he is changing that status quo. Palestinians say it has long been eroding because of an increase in Jewish visits.
“Today, thank God, it is possible to pray on the Temple Mount,” Ben-Gvir said, according to a statement from his office.
The prime minister’s office said there has been no change to the status quo. Police said Monday’s march would not enter the site.
For many in Israel, Jerusalem Day is a joyous occasion that marks a moment of redemption in their country’s history, when access to the key Jewish holy site of the Western Wall was restored and the city was unified. But in recent years, the Jerusalem Day march has been dominated by young nationalist and religious Israelis.
Protesters storm U.N. compound in Jerusalem
UNRWA West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said around a dozen Israeli protesters, including Yulia Malinovsky, one of the legislators behind an Israeli law that banned UNRWA, forcefully entered the compound, climbing its main gate in view of Israeli police.
Protesters held a banner calling for the compound to be turned into an Israeli settlement. Israel’s housing minister said last year he had instructed the ministry to “examine how to return the area to the state of Israel and utilize it for housing.”
Israel has accused the agency, the biggest aid provider in Gaza, of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the U.N. has denied.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli police.
The compound has stood mainly empty since the end of January, after UNRWA asked staff not to work from there, fearing for their safety. The U.N. says it has not vacated the compound and that it is protected under international law.
Israeli nationalists chant ‘Death to Arabs’ during annual Jerusalem march
Hundreds of Israeli nationalists took to the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday for the annual Jerusalem Day march. The occasion is being celebrated to commemorate Israel’s conquest of East Jerusalem in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The demonstrators, mostly young ultranationalist Jews, paraded through the Muslim Quarter, dancing, waving flags, and shouting slurs. The procession, known as the “Dance of Flags,” has been controversial in recent years due to its provocative route and hostile rhetoric. A few hours before the march, a small group of Israeli demonstrators, amongst them a member of Israel’s parliament, entered an East Jerusalem UN compound.
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The demonstrators, mostly young ultranationalist Jews, paraded through the Muslim Quarter, dancing, waving flags, and shouting slurs. The procession, known as the “Dance of Flags,” has been controversial in recent years due to its provocative route and hostile rhetoric.
In order to prevent violence, Israeli police were heavily deployed along the Old City’s alleys, and Palestinian store owners closed early. According to the news agency AP, some demonstrators harassed locals and got into fights with them in spite of the strict security.
A video showed a police officer hugging a marcher, and another clip captured a group of Jewish youths following a Palestinian woman, shouting “charmouta,” an Arabic word for “who**.” One protester yelled, “This is our home, this is our state,” to which the woman responded in Hebrew, “Go away from here!”
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In an effort to deter violence, volunteers from peace organisations like Free Jerusalem and Standing Together attempted to stand between the protesters and locals.
UN COMPOUND BREACHED
A few hours before the march, a small group of Israeli demonstrators, amongst them a member of Israel’s parliament, entered an East Jerusalem UN compound. The location is owned by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency). Roland Friedrich, the coordinator for UNRWA in the West Bank, said the demonstrators scaled the main gate and entered the building in plain sight of Israeli police. A banner demanding changing the compound into an Israeli settlement was held by one protester.
Israeli officials have been accusing UNRWA of harbouring Hamas operatives. However, the UN has refuted this accusation. In Gaza, the organisation has been the biggest supplier of humanitarian aid. Since employees were instructed not to work at the compound in January due to safety concerns, it has been mainly deserted. According to the UN, the site is still protected by international law, and it has not left.
Jerusalem lies at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Each sees the city as a key part of their national and religious identity. It is one of the most intractable issues of the conflict and is often a flashpoint.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal, undivided capital. Its annexation of east Jerusalem is not internationally recognised. Palestinians want an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israeli Nationalists Chant Racist Slogans While Marching In Palestinian Area Of Jerusalem
The annual march is seen by Palestinians as provocative. Police said they arrested 18 marchers. The march commemorates Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital, but it is not internationally recognized as the capital of a future state. Palestinians consider the mosque a national symbol and view such visits as a potential precursor to Israel seizing control over the compound. It is the third holiest site for Jews, but there has been a growing movement in recent years of Jews who support worship there. It was the first time Jews had prayed at the site since the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the city and began building a wall around it. The site is considered a holy site for Muslims, but for Jews it is a holy place for the Jews, who have been allowed to pray there since the mid-19th century. It has been the scene of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the past.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultranationalist Israelis marched through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem on Wednesday in an annual procession, chanting racist slogans as the country’s far-right national security minister boasted that Jews had prayed freely at a key holy site in the city in violation of decades-old understandings.
The comments by Itamar Ben-Gvir and the march in Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, threatened to stoke already high tensions that have gripped the region since the start of the war in Gaza. The annual march, seen by Palestinians as provocative, helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza three years ago.
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Marchers convening outside the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s historic Old City, a central gathering place for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, chanted “Death to Arabs” and other anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans. They danced and waved Israeli flags as the procession kicked off.
Israeli nationalists celebrate their annual march in the Old City of Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. Attendees chanted racist slogans while marching through the sensitive Palestinian area of the city, as far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir boasted that Jews prayed freely at a key holy site in violation of decades-old understandings. Amir Levy via Getty Images
Ben-Gvir, who was once on the fringes of Israeli politics but now holds a key position in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, had insisted that the march follow its traditional route through the Palestinian area, despite tensions surging because of the war. Marchers entered the Muslim Quarter of the Old City through Damascus Gate and ended at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.
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The police stressed that the march would not enter the sprawling Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The hilltop on which it stands is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the Jewish temples in antiquity.
But activists said hundreds of Jews had visited the compound earlier in the day, and Ben-Gvir said they prayed there freely, following what he said was his own policy that permitted prayer there.
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participates in the ultranationalist march through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. Ben-Gvir boasted that Jews had prayed freely at a key holy site in the city, in violation of decades-old understandings. Amir Levy via Getty Images
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Since Israel captured the site in 1967, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Perceived encroachments on the site have set off widespread violence on a number of occasions going back decades.
“Jews prayed on the Temple Mount. This is the minister’s policy,” Ben-Gvir told the Galey Israel radio station.
Netanyahu said there had been no change to the understandings at the holy site that prevented Jewish prayer there.
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Ben-Gvir has long called for greater Jewish access to the holy site and has visited it repeatedly as a minister. Palestinians consider the mosque a national symbol and view such visits as provocative and as a potential precursor to Israel seizing control over the compound. Most rabbis forbid Jews from praying on the site, but there has been a growing movement in recent years of Jews who support worship there.
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 Mideast war.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital, but its annexation of east Jerusalem is not internationally recognized. The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, see the march as a provocation.
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Just before the march began, crowds scuffled with police and threw plastic bottles at a journalist wearing a vest with the word PRESS emblazoned on it. Police said they arrested 18 marchers “on suspicion of violent crimes, assault and threats and disorderly conduct.”
Israeli nationalists attack a journalist during their annual march through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. Amir Levy via Getty Images
Police said they deployed 3,000 security personnel to ensure calm and were seen arresting several Palestinian men before the march got underway, leading them away with their hands bound behind their backs.
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Ben-Gvir said the march sent a message to Hamas.
“We are delivering a message from here to Hamas: Jerusalem is ours. Damascus Gate is ours,” he told marchers at the start of the rally. “And with God’s help total victory is ours,” Ben-Gvir said, referring to the war in Gaza, which he has demanded that Israel continue until Hamas is defeated.
Commenting on the march, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said “our people will not rest until the occupation is gone and an independent Palestinian state is established, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
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The march was taking place as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are high. The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel responded with a massive offensive that has killed over 36,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, displaced most of the territory’s population and caused widespread destruction.
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