Israel sends heavy police presence ahead of Jerusalem march

 

Israel sent more than 2,000 police for a Jerusalem Day flag march by Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The police officers will secure the Jerusalem Day flag march. The police officers have said that they would ensure the contentious event passes in Jerusalem’s Old City without violence. The Jewish people are set to enter Jerusalem’s Old City from the Damascus Gate in the Muslim Quarter and proceed toward the Jewish Quarter in the Western Wall plaza.

The Israeli authorities have allowed thousands of marchers to pass through the Old City’s Damascus Gate. Chief Supt. Yoram Segal, a senior Jerusalem police official, has claimed that the Israeli authorities are determined to prevent violence between Israelis and Palestinians during the march. He further said, “We are going to deal harshly with anyone who tries to disturb the peace.”

According to Segal, the Israeli police officers have been working “hand in hand” with Jewish and Palestinian community leaders to establish peace during the Jerusalem march.

Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman said that the marchers will not visit the Temple Mount or the sensitive site in order to avoid violence during the procession.

The Jerusalem Day march celebrates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war. Israel’s annexation of the eastern sector of Jerusalem is not internationally recognized. However, Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its own. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state because it is home to Islam’s most important holy sites.

Every year, Jewish nationalists participate in the Jerusalem march with blue and white Israeli flags during the procession and sing songs.

On Wednesday, Hamas militant group called on Palestinians to oppose the Jerusalem march. Mushir Al-Masri, a Hamas official in Gaza, urged Palestinians in the West Bank and inside Israel to oppose the parade.