The 'March of Flags' has begun in Jerusalem and through two processions - one in the Arab part of the Old City, the other through the Armenian Quarter - will reach the Western Wall. The police guard in force the routes of the demonstrators - thousands are expected - who intend to celebrate the capture by Israel during the 6-Day War of the eastern part of the city then under Jordanian control.
Before the March, left-wing protesters attempted to block some access routes to the city to prevent nationalist demonstrators from arriving at the collection points and - according to media reports - there were 10 people stopped. The Times of Israel website reports that right-wing demonstrators, with flags in front of cameras, prevented TV journalists from reporting.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) called the March "provocative" and Hamas from Gaza threatened consequences. Jordan attacked Israel for allowing a minister in its government and Knesset members to climb the Esplanade of the Mosques. Amman Foreign Ministry
spokesman Sinan Majali - quoted by Petra - branded their actions "as provocative", "unacceptable" and that they "take place under the protection of the Israeli police".
Today on the Esplanade (the Temple Mount for the Jews) - according to the media - the Minister of Development of the Negev and Galilee Yitzhak Wasserlauf (of Jewish Power), and the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir (leader of the far-right party 'Jewish Power'), accompanied by his wife Ayala, have climbed the Esplanade (the Temple Mount for the Jews). Surrounded by a cordon of police officers, Ben Gvir told cameras: "Tens of thousands are coming, thank the Lord." Then he added: "Jerusalem is ours for eternity." Among the participants, Haaretz adds, there is also a Likud minister, Mai Golan and other political figures.
The Amman ministry then "warned of an escalation of the situation" also because of the "provocation" of the March. Majali called on Israel "in its capacity as the occupying power, to desist from all practices and violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and to respect its sanctity, stressing the need to stop all measures aimed at changing the existing historical and legal situation, and respect the authority of the Administration of the Jerusalem Fund and the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (leader of the far-right Jewish Power party) joined the participants in the March of the Flags in central Jerusalem. Surrounded by a cordon of police officers, Ben Gvir told cameras: "Tens of thousands are coming, thank the Lord." Then he added: "Jerusalem is ours for eternity." Among the participants, Haaretz adds, there is also a minister from Likud, Mai Golan.
First incidents are marked at Damascus Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City, where foreign and Arab journalists were reportedly throwing bottles by participants in the march, according to Kan public television. Anti-Arab nationalistic chants can also be heard in the area, including "revenge" against Palestine and the burning of Arab villages. The police are present in force and prevent scuffles from being created.