Israeli nationalists hold parade in East Jerusalem
Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s walled Old City under tight security in an annual event commemorating Israel’s capture of the east of the city in a war nearly six decades ago.
The parade, the main celebration of Jerusalem Day, has become a show of force for Jewish nationalists but is seen by Palestinians as a blatant provocation aimed at weakening ties with the city.
Shira Gefen, a 53-year-old Israeli who came to Jerusalem from her home near Haifa for the rally, said, “Jerusalem is our holy city. It is our holy city forever.”
Israel captured and later annexed East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war; This is a move that the United Nations and most countries do not recognize.
George, a 65-year-old Israeli who lives near Ashkelon in the south of the country, said: “We are very happy and excited to be here. This is the heart of the world and all the Jewish people.” he said.
He declined to give his surname.
Israeli authorities deployed thousands of police officers, some in riot gear, in Jerusalem, including at the Damascus Gate, the main gate to the Old City’s historic Muslim quarter.
Police set up barricades around the Damascus Gate area, preventing Palestinians who do not live in the Old City from entering.
Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City said they had to close before the parade.
The march frequently flares up tensions as ultranationalist Jewish groups flock to Palestinian areas of the Old City.
In the past, the crowd of demonstrators, including many young people, had chanted slogans such as “Death to Arabs”.
The parade route begins in West Jerusalem and ends at the Wailing Wall, a ruin of an ancient retaining structure that Jews venerate as the Temple Mount and the ruins of two ancient temples of their faith.
Muslims call this area the Haram Al Sharif, or the Holy Temple, the third holiest place in Islam.
At one point during Thursday’s march, Israeli police forced activists — along with members of the media — out of the Old City who wanted to provide a protective presence for Palestinians, then allowed the journalists to return, confining them to an area near the Austrian Hospice.
Palestinians see the Quds Day march as part of a broader campaign to increase the Jewish presence in the city to their detriment.
They had long sought East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
