Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Israeli Nationalists March in Palestinian Area of Jerusalem, Some Chanting 'Death to Arabs'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 months ago on
June 5, 2024

Thousands of ultranationalist Israelis marched through a sensitive Palestinian area in Jerusalem, chanting inflammatory slogans amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, with significant police presence to prevent unrest. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

JERUSALEM — Thousands of mostly ultranationalist Israelis were taking part in an annual march through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem on Wednesday, with some stoking already surging wartime tensions by chanting “Death to Arabs.”

Annual March Started Outside of the Damascus Gate

Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been mostly calm throughout the Israel-Hamas war. But the annual march, seen as provocative by Palestinians, could ignite broader unrest, as it did three years ago, when it helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza.

Marchers convening outside the Damascus Gate, a central gathering place for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, chanted anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans, danced and waved Israeli flags as the procession kicked off.

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 five marchers for throwing objects at journalists.

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.

United States Wants a Cease-fire and Hostage Release

The United States has thrown its weight behind a phased cease-fire and hostage release outlined by President Joe Biden last week. But Israel says it won’t end the war without destroying Hamas, while the militant group is demanding a lasting cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

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.

Police said they were deploying 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.

At the insistence of Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, the march is following its traditional route, entering the Muslim Quarter of the Old City through Damascus Gate and ending at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.

Palestinian Shopkeepers Closed in Preparation of March

As buses bringing young Jewish men in for the march thronged around the Old City’s centuries-old walls, Palestinian shopkeepers closed down in the Muslim Quarter in preparation.

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.

Perceived encroachments on the site have set off widespread violence on a number of occasions going back decades.

Counterprotests were planned throughout the day. An Israeli group, Tag Meir, sent volunteers through the emptying city streets ahead of the march to distribute flowers to Christian and Muslim residents of the Old City.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

DON'T MISS

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

UP NEXT

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

UP NEXT

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

UP NEXT

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

UP NEXT

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

UP NEXT

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

UP NEXT

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

UP NEXT

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

3 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

3 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

3 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

3 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

4 hours ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

4 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

4 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

5 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

5 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

A driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into a California Highway Patrol car early Sunday, officials said. Officers were inv...

6 mins ago

A driver suspected of DUI crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol car at a fatal crash scene in Fresno County, sustaining minor injuries and later being cited. (Fresno County SO)
6 mins ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

fresno
28 mins ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

1 hour ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Ashley Landis)
3 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

3 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

3 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

4 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

Search

Send this to a friend