May 18. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Thousands of Israelis have participated this Thursday in a new edition of the March of the Flag through the streets of Jerusalem, a traditionally controversial event but in which this year there have been no serious incidents beyond more than a dozen arrests.
During the march, which crosses the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem, there have been isolated episodes of violence and harassment by some of the most radical attendees, although it is true that there have been insults and chants against the Arab population.
Several groups of protesters have launched racist slogans, such as “death to the Arabs” or “burn your village”, while also dancing in the vicinity of the Damascus Gate, one of the accesses to the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Israel Police have confirmed the arrest of a dozen people even before the start of the March of the Flags, including several left-wing activists who had blocked a road in the West Bank. Several others have been detained for provoking the Palestinians.
The march was attended by the Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, promoter of the controversial judicial reform that has evidenced friction within the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben Gvir has normally been a regular at this concentration, although this is the first time he has done so as a member of the Israeli Government, as the local newspaper ‘Times of Israel’ recalls.
Thus, the March of the Flags has passed without serious incidents despite the fact that it was feared that part of the attendees would try to get closer to the Esplanade of the Mosques, thus raising tensions in the Middle East.
The march is organized by right-wing and religious organizations to commemorate the “unification” of Jerusalem and the capture of the Old City, including the Temple Mount — known to Jews as the Temple Mount — during the Six Day War in 1967, a fact not recognized internationally.
The act has taken place less than a week after a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli bombing campaign against Islamic Jihad that has left more than 30 Palestinians dead. In addition, two people in Israel — an Israeli and a Palestinian — were killed by the impact of projectiles.
