OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Thousands of Israeli settlers took part on Thursday evening in the provocative “Flag March” in the Damascus Gate area, one of the most famous entrances of Occupied Jerusalem’s Old City, under heavy protection from Israeli police forces.
The march was attended by ministers and Knesset members from the governing coalition, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, along with senior Israeli police and military officials and other extremist Knesset members.
Settlers waved Israeli flags and banners carrying racist slogans calling for the death of Arabs and threatening to build the “alleged Temple” in place of Aqsa Mosque. Participants also assaulted Palestinian residents and journalists present in the area by spitting at them, shouting insults, and performing dances with flags.
Israeli forces deployed snipers on the walls of Damascus Gate and heavily spread throughout the area, Occupied Jerusalem’s streets, and the alleys of the Old City, effectively turning it into a military zone under the pretext of securing the march.
Israeli police prevented Palestinians from moving freely through the Old City and forced shop owners to close their businesses while protecting settlers.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir renewed his incursion into Aqsa Mosque compound, coinciding with what Israel calls “Jerusalem Day” and ahead of the annual “Flag March,” held to mark Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 according to the Hebrew calendar.
The Jerusalem Governorate announced that 1,412 settlers stormed the courtyards of the Aqsa Mosque during the morning and evening incursions, amid a series of strict Israeli restrictions imposed on worshipers and Jerusalem residents in general.
Earlier, Hamas said that the attacks by the “criminal Zionist occupation” and its settlers, including the incursions and flag marches organized in Occupied Jerusalem and Aqsa Mosque, represent failed attempts to alter the identity of “our holy land,” which it said will remain Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic despite Israeli Judaization policies.
In a statement on Thursday, Hamas said the “terrorist occupation” would not succeed, no matter how much it escalates its measures, incursions, and restrictions on Jerusalemites and worshipers in stripping Occupied Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque of their status and symbolism in the hearts of Palestinians or weakening their determination to defend their holy sites.
The Movement added that such actions would only strengthen Palestinians’ resolve to resist and remain steadfast, describing the Aqsa Mosque as “a matter of faith, belonging, and deeply rooted history in the conscience of our people and the Arab and Islamic nations.”
