'Death to Arabs': Far-right Israelis clash with Palestinians during Jerusalem Day parade

Several Palestinians were left injured as far-right Israelis conducted an annual parade in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

However, the parade turned violent after a wave of ultranationalist Jews entered the city, chanting “death to Arabs”. Soon after, Arab traders in the Muslim Quarters were harassed by young Israeli men after thousands of Jews marched through the Damascus Gate.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, its indivisible capital. The international community, however, does not recognise this, and Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Far-right politician and minister Itamar Ben Gvir joined the celebrations with fellow Israelis as he visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, on Monday.

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“I ascended to the Temple Mount for Jerusalem Day, and prayed for victory in the war,” and the return of hostages held in Gaza, said the national security minister, whose past visits to the site have sparked anger among Palestinians and their supporters.

On the other hand, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called the event a festival of “hatred and racism,” adding that it is “a disgrace and an insult to Judaism”.

‘May your village burn’

The route of the parade ends at the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.

“After so many years that the people of Israel were not here in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel, we arrived here and conquered Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,” said 21-year-old Yeshiva student Yosef Azoulai. “So we celebrate this day in which we won over all our enemies.”

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Groups of Israeli youths were seen confronting Palestinian shopkeepers, passersby and schoolchildren, as well as Israeli rights activists and police, at times spitting on people, lobbing insults and trying to force their way into houses.

Some chanted “death to Arabs”, “may your village burn” and “Gaza belongs to us”, drawing the occasional uncomfortable look from families making their way to the Western Wall.

With inputs from agencies