Israeli Nationalists March Through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter

Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday during an annual event marking Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.

The Jerusalem Day parade took place under heavy security and was accompanied by anti-Arab chants. Some demonstrators, many of them young men, shouted slogans including “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn”, while waving Israeli flags.

Many Palestinian residents stayed inside their homes during the march. Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City said they had been forced to close ahead of the parade.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move not recognized by most countries or the UN. Palestinians regard the march as a provocation and as part of a broader effort to strengthen the Jewish presence in the city.

Israeli authorities deployed thousands of police officers in Jerusalem, including around Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the historic Muslim Quarter. Police erected barricades and prevented Palestinians who do not live in the Old City from entering the area.

Tensions were heightened by a visit by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, where he raised an Israeli flag. Under the long-standing status quo, the site is administered by the Waqf, an Islamic religious trust overseen by Jordan, while Israel controls security and access. Non-Muslims may visit at certain times but are not allowed to pray there.

(reuters, bak)