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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh describes the planned march through occupied East Jerusalem as ‘a provocation of our people’.
Naftali Bennett Once said "West Bank is not under occupation because “there was never a Palestinian state here,".
Israeli far-right groups are expected to participate in a so-called “March of the Flags” through the Damascus Gate of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City and into its Muslim quarter on Tuesday, drawing warnings from Hamas of renewed hostilities should it proceed.
Heavily armed paramilitary border police and other forces patrolled the streets of the city, set up checkpoints, and blocked off roads throughout East Jerusalem. Iron barriers were placed outside the entrance to Damascus Gate, where Palestinians said they would gather to confront the Israelis.
The Israeli military has deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries and raised its level of alert ahead of the Jerusalem Flag March on Tuesday, as Hamas says it would respond to the right-wing march if it goes through as planned, potentially with rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s new government approved the controversial march by right-wing nationalists and pro-settler groups on Monday, a step that risks inflaming tensions with Palestinians, hours after Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The move came as tensions remain high in occupied East Jerusalem over Israel’s planned forced displacement of Palestinian families from the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, just north of the Old City.
It also comes as a fragile ceasefire is holding in the besieged Gaza Strip following Israel’s 11-day military bombardment of the enclave, which killed 253 people – including 66 children. At least 13 Israelis were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza during the escalation in violence.
Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank have called for a “Day of Rage” against the march. Last month, Israeli crackdowns on protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound left hundreds of Palestinians wounded.
“This is a provocation of our people and an aggression against our Jerusalem and our holy sites,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said of the march.
After meeting with Israel’s police chief and other security officials, newly sworn-in Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev approved the march and said police were well prepared, according to a statement carried by the Israeli media.
“[Great] efforts are being undertaken to preserve the delicate fabric of life and public security,” Barlev was quoted as saying.
It was not clear whether participants would be allowed to enter the Old City’s Muslim quarter, on a route that Israeli police had previously barred. An original march on May 10 was rerouted at the last minute as tensions in Jerusalem had escalated.
Israeli rightists accused the government of caving into Hamas by changing its route. They rescheduled the procession after an Egyptian-mediated Gaza truce took hold.
A new route change or cancellation of the procession could expose Bennett’s patchwork coalition to accusations from Netanyahu, now in the opposition, and his right-wing allies of giving Hamas veto power over events in Jerusalem.
“The time has come for Israel to threaten Hamas and not for Hamas to threaten Israel,” prominent far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Twitter.
The march poses an immediate challenge for Bennett’s government, which was approved on Sunday by a 60-59 vote in parliament.
Suggesting that a route adjustment could be in store, Yoav Segalovitz, a deputy internal security minister, said past governments had stopped nationalists from visiting Muslim sites in times of tension.
NADHANI MMEANZA KUMUELEWA NAFTAL BENNETT NI MTU WA NAMNA GANI.
Now Jerusalem will be returned to its rightful OWNER
Naftali Bennett Once said "West Bank is not under occupation because “there was never a Palestinian state here,".
Israeli far-right groups are expected to participate in a so-called “March of the Flags” through the Damascus Gate of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City and into its Muslim quarter on Tuesday, drawing warnings from Hamas of renewed hostilities should it proceed.
Heavily armed paramilitary border police and other forces patrolled the streets of the city, set up checkpoints, and blocked off roads throughout East Jerusalem. Iron barriers were placed outside the entrance to Damascus Gate, where Palestinians said they would gather to confront the Israelis.
The Israeli military has deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries and raised its level of alert ahead of the Jerusalem Flag March on Tuesday, as Hamas says it would respond to the right-wing march if it goes through as planned, potentially with rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s new government approved the controversial march by right-wing nationalists and pro-settler groups on Monday, a step that risks inflaming tensions with Palestinians, hours after Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The move came as tensions remain high in occupied East Jerusalem over Israel’s planned forced displacement of Palestinian families from the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, just north of the Old City.
It also comes as a fragile ceasefire is holding in the besieged Gaza Strip following Israel’s 11-day military bombardment of the enclave, which killed 253 people – including 66 children. At least 13 Israelis were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza during the escalation in violence.
Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank have called for a “Day of Rage” against the march. Last month, Israeli crackdowns on protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound left hundreds of Palestinians wounded.
“This is a provocation of our people and an aggression against our Jerusalem and our holy sites,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said of the march.
After meeting with Israel’s police chief and other security officials, newly sworn-in Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev approved the march and said police were well prepared, according to a statement carried by the Israeli media.
“[Great] efforts are being undertaken to preserve the delicate fabric of life and public security,” Barlev was quoted as saying.
It was not clear whether participants would be allowed to enter the Old City’s Muslim quarter, on a route that Israeli police had previously barred. An original march on May 10 was rerouted at the last minute as tensions in Jerusalem had escalated.
Israeli rightists accused the government of caving into Hamas by changing its route. They rescheduled the procession after an Egyptian-mediated Gaza truce took hold.
A new route change or cancellation of the procession could expose Bennett’s patchwork coalition to accusations from Netanyahu, now in the opposition, and his right-wing allies of giving Hamas veto power over events in Jerusalem.
“The time has come for Israel to threaten Hamas and not for Hamas to threaten Israel,” prominent far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Twitter.
The march poses an immediate challenge for Bennett’s government, which was approved on Sunday by a 60-59 vote in parliament.
Suggesting that a route adjustment could be in store, Yoav Segalovitz, a deputy internal security minister, said past governments had stopped nationalists from visiting Muslim sites in times of tension.
NADHANI MMEANZA KUMUELEWA NAFTAL BENNETT NI MTU WA NAMNA GANI.
Now Jerusalem will be returned to its rightful OWNER
MUDA NI MWALIMU MZURI