Tensions are high in occupied Jerusalem today, Monday, as Israeli settlers prepare to hold the annual “Flag March,” commemorating the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, amid warnings from Palestinian officials of potentially dangerous consequences.
اضافة اعلان
Tens of thousands of settlers are expected to participate in the march, accompanied by Israeli ministers and government officials. Thousands of Israeli police have been deployed across the city as part of tight security measures.
The march is scheduled to begin this afternoon, with male participants starting from King George Street in West Jerusalem and entering the Old City through Damascus Gate to perform the so-called "flag dance." Female participants will start from the Mamilla Cemetery area and enter through Jaffa Gate, passing through the Armenian Quarter toward the Western Wall for the central celebration.
Israeli police installed metal barriers around Damascus Gate on Sunday to secure the area ahead of the controversial event.
Meanwhile, hundreds of settlers began storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque early this morning, under heavy protection from Israeli forces, who tightened control around the mosque and barred Muslim worshippers from entering. During the incursion, settlers performed religious rituals, sang, danced, and one woman raised an Israeli flag inside the compound.
The Temple Mount organizations released a promotional video featuring 13 rabbis from major religious Zionist institutions and settlements, calling on followers to mass-invade Al-Aqsa. Other groups like "The Temple Mount Is In Our Hands" urged raising Israeli flags and performing public rituals inside the compound, led by Rabbi Elisha Wolfson.
Palestinian Warnings
The Jerusalem Governorate issued a statement warning of serious escalation in the city as Israel pushes forward with what it described as colonial Judaization activities aimed at asserting Israeli sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem—actions that violate international law and UN resolutions.
The governorate described the march as a deliberate provocation accompanied by attacks on Palestinians and chants of religious and ethnic hatred, all under Israeli police protection. Police are expected to impose a full closure of the area starting at 12:30 PM.
Hamas issued a statement condemning the settlers' mobilization and the circulation of the incitement video, stating it is part of the ongoing religious war waged by the occupation to Judaize Jerusalem. The group blamed the Israeli government’s full support for settlers’ aggressions, citing the silence of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank and within the 1948 territories to intensify their presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque and urged the Arab and Muslim nations to act in defense of the holy site.
Palestinian National Council President Rawhi Fattouh also warned of the consequences of allowing extremist Jewish groups to storm the mosque during the Flag March. He stressed that repeated violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque breach international law and UN resolutions that recognize East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as occupied territory with no Israeli sovereignty.
Fattouh called for firm international measures and reiterated the need to respect the legal and historical status of Jerusalem while halting all unilateral Israeli actions threatening peace and regional stability.
Israelis are marking today, the 28th of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar, as “Jerusalem Day,” celebrating what they call the unification of Jerusalem during the 1967 war—known in the Arab world as the “Naksa” or setback.
— (Al Jazeera)
