Israeli Flag Day March Through Muslim Jerusalem Inflames Tensions

Thousands of Israeli religious nationalists paraded through Muslim parts of the Old City of Jerusalem in the annual Flag Day march yesterday, an event that threatens to trigger further violence in the Israel-Hamas war.

- Bethan McKernan

The march, in which Israelis enter the Muslim quarter through the highly symbolic Damascus Gate and walk to the Western Wall waving the national flag, takes place around sunset on what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, marking the capture and occupation of the eastern half of the city and its holy sites in the war of 1967. Control of Jerusalem is at the centre of the decades-old conflict, and the Israeli takeover is not recognised internationally.

The parade is often marred by anti-Arab hate speech and vandalism of Palestinian property, as well as violent clashes between marchers and Palestinian residents of the Old City, who see it as deeply provocative. Violence at the same event three years ago helped spark the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.