Hundreds of Israeli ultra-nationalists appear to have been prevented from marching through mostly Palestinian parts of Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, an event that served as one of the catalysts for last year’s Israel-Gaza conflict.
Outside the Old City walls, police put up enormous roadblocks, barring the major route leading down to Damascus Gate, the focus of last year’s conflict. The marchers, bottled up, brandished Israeli flags, yelled, and sang.
Earlier in the day, a small number of Palestinian protestors hurled rocks at police as hundreds of Jewish tourists stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, dubbed the Temple Mount by Jews.
The hilltop shrine in Jerusalem’s Old City is Islam’s third holiest place, whereas it is the holiest location for Jews, as it is the site of two ancient temples. It serves as an emotive focal point for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has served as a spark for prior outbreaks of violence.
Amateur video from the scene appeared to show police firing non-lethal sponge-tipped plastic pellets at demonstrators locked inside the mosque. According to police, a firebomb hurled by one of the demonstrators ignited a carpet outside the mosque, but it was swiftly put out. There were no reported injuries.
Israeli police said a large number of officers were deployed around Jerusalem’s historic Old City, which is home to religious sites for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, out of concern that clashes could exacerbate an already tense situation in the city during Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“At this time, the police are declining to approve the protest march in the desired pattern,” the police stated in a statement ahead of the march, without providing any details. They were unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Hamas, which administers the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Israel “bears full responsibility for the consequences” if it permits the march to “near our sacred sites,” but did not define what steps it would take or what its red lines would be.
Several nationalist Israeli lawmakers confirmed their attendance, including ultra-nationalist parliament member Itamar Ben Gvir, a follower of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane and a regular agitator in east Jerusalem’s sensitive Palestinian areas.
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced in a statement that he would prohibit Ben Gvir from visiting Damascus Gate. “I have no intention of allowing petty politics to jeopardize human lives,” he stated.
Last May, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched rockets toward Jerusalem as Israeli nationalists marched to the Old City. The actions precipitated an 11-day battle between Israel and Gaza’s insurgent organization Hamas.
Tensions between Israel and Palestine have risen significantly in recent weeks as a result of a number of violent strikes within Israel, followed by military operations in the West Bank. For the first time in months, Palestinian terrorists launched a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to reply with airstrikes. These riots occurred following days of violence between Israeli police and Palestinians at Jerusalem’s sensitive holy site.
Noam Nisan, one of the march’s organizers, told Kan public radio that the march will take place as scheduled Wednesday. “A Jew in Jerusalem with a flag is hardly a provocation,” he stated.
He stated that the rally was in response to buses being stoned earlier this week while traveling to Jerusalem’s Old City’s Western Wall, the holiest location for Jews to pray.
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