On an annual celebratory day for Israelis, thousands of Israeli nationalists paraded through Jerusalem’s Old City, engaging in chants with racist undertones. The majority male crowd, celebrating Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967, brandished Israeli flags and chanted slogans such as “Death to Arabs,” “Mohammed is Dead,” and “May Your Village Burn.”
It should be noted that Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized internationally, and Palestinians consider East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The Jerusalem Day celebration, in the past, has been a point of contention and even fueled an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip around two years ago.
Throughout the day, hundreds of marchers holding blue and white Israeli flags made their way through Damascus Gate to the Old City, eventually reaching the Western Wall. This event, known for its history of tension, saw a significant deployment of over 2,500 police officers this year, with hundreds more stationed throughout the city.
As the crowd danced and sang religious Jewish songs outside Damascus Gate, Israeli police officers stood guard. Palestinians were largely barred from accessing most of the gates leading to the Old City. Unfortunately, a group of marchers attacked members of the press covering the event, throwing rocks and bottles. Three journalists, including a Palestinian reporter from Haaretz, were injured, with the Palestinian journalist suffering a blow to the neck.
Authorities have arrested two individuals responsible for the attack, but they have labeled it as an “isolated incident.” According to a Palestinian freelance journalist, Ibrahim Hamad, who was present at Damascus Gate, the attack on the press was unprovoked. He noted that they were standing there as journalists, alongside women wearing hijabs, when extremist Zionists began throwing bottles and sticks, seemingly trying to prevent them from documenting the events.
In a separate incident, while the march was underway, four police officers approached Fakhri Abu Diab, a Palestinian community leader who was conducting a telephone interview with Israel’s Ynet news near the al-Aqsa mosque. One of the officers forcefully grabbed his phone and threw it on the ground. Diab was then expelled from the mosque compound and held at a street corner for an hour and a half. While the incident drew criticism from Ynet news editor Nir Cohen, the police spokesperson declined to comment.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian president in the occupied West Bank, expressed concern that allowing the march to pass through Palestinian areas of the Old City would only escalate tensions and potentially lead to an eruption of violence.
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