Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter on Thursday under heavy security, with some calling for the death of Arabs and for Palestinian villages to be burned during an annual march marking Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.
As Israelis paraded through the Muslim Quarter, home to thousands of Palestinians, some demonstrators - mostly young men - chanted “May your villages burn” and “Death to Arabs” while waving Israeli flags.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move that the United Nations and most countries have not recognised.
“Jerusalem is our holy city. It is our holy city forever,” said Shira Gefen, a 53-year-old Israeli.
“We are very happy and excited to be here. This is the heart of the world and the heart of all Jewish people,” said George, a 65-year-old Israeli.
Israeli authorities deployed thousands of police officers, some in riot gear, across Jerusalem, including at Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the historic Muslim Quarter.
Police erected barricades around the Damascus Gate area, preventing Palestinians who do not live in the Old City from entering.
The parade route begins in West Jerusalem and ends at the Western Wall, a remnant of an ancient retaining structure revered by Jews as part of the Temple Mount, the site of two ancient Jewish temples.
Muslims refer to the area as Al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, a compound regarded as the third holiest site in Islam.
Under a delicate decades-old arrangement with Muslim authorities, the compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation. Jews are permitted to visit the site but may not pray there. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has sought to allow Jewish prayer at the site.
“The Temple Mount is in our hands, the Temple Mount is ours,” one marcher said.
Palestinians view the Jerusalem Day procession as part of a broader campaign to strengthen Jewish presence across the city at their expense.
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