ShareJERUSALEM: Far-right Zionist Jews assaulted Palestinians, fellow citizens and journalists during a large rally marking the Zionist entity's occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 following the Six-Day war.
The annual "Flag March" drew thousands chanting, dancing and waving flags shortly after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The march frequently stokes tension as ultranationalist Jews stream into Palestinian areas of Jerusalem's walled Old City en route to the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most sacred sites, which abuts the mosque compound. Most countries consider East Jerusalem to be occupied territory and do not recognize Zionist sovereignty over it.
Young marchers began harassing the few Palestinian shopkeepers who had yet to shutter their stores ahead of the rally in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem shortly after midday, a Reuters witness said.
The marchers, mostly young Zionist settlers who lived in the occupied West Bank, then began to target left-wing activists from the Zionist entity and journalists observing the rally.
The demonstrators shouted anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans, chanting: “Death to Arabs”. A Palestinian woman and journalists were spat on by a group of settlers, and nearby Zionist entity police did not intervene, the Reuters witness said. Police officials did not respond to a request for comment. No arrests were reported as of late afternoon.
A police officer at the scene said young Zionist marchers could not be arrested because they were under the age of 18. Moshe, a 35-year-old Zionist entity settler from the West Bank and supporter of the current right-wing government, walked through a Palestinian neighborhood of the Old City with a rifle slung over his shoulder and his daughter on his shoulders. It was a “very happy day” because all of Jerusalem was “under the government of (the Zionist entity,” he said, declining to give his last name.
Left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan, a former armed forces deputy commander, described images of violence in the Old City as “shocking”. He said in a statement: "This is not what loving Jerusalem looks like. This is what hatred, racism and bullying look like." "We will keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under (Zionist entity) sovereignty," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting held in East Jerusalem earlier on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency based in the West Bank condemned the march and Ben Gvir's visit to Al-Aqsa. The Gaza genocide, "repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and provocative acts such as raising the (Zionist occupation's) flag in occupied Jerusalem threaten the stability of the entire region," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
Clashes flared throughout the day as left-wing activists, who are Zionist entity citizens, intervened to escort Palestinians away from young far-right Zionist Jews threatening passersby, witnesses said. Journalists covering the rally were repeatedly harassed and in some instances assaulted, the Reuters witness said.
Ben Gvir in Al-Aqsa
Earlier, Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the walled Old City - the third holiest site in Islam. Ben Gvir said in a video filmed at the elevated compound that the site was being flooded by Jews. "Today, thank God, it is already possible to pray on the Temple Mount,” he said.
Under a decades-old arrangement, the compound is administered by a Jordanian Islamic trust. Jews, who regard the compound as the site of two ancient temples, are allowed to visit but not pray there. Ben Gvir, whose visit was condemned by the Palestinian Authority and Jordan - has along with others long pushed for Jewish prayer rights at the site.
This year’s Flag March again coincided with the Gaza genocide, now in its 20th month, and escalating Zionist military attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. Settler attacks targeting Palestinian residents are also on the rise. — Reuters
