About 20 thousand Israeli nationalists, mostly very young, escorted by 3 thousand police officers, marched as every year in the Muslim quarter of East Jerusalem, in the old city, to celebrate the day of reunification, on the occasion of the anniversary of the six-day war of 1967 with which the Israeli army occupied the Egyptian Sinai, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights. Over time, the “march of the flags” has become a test of strength for the extremists, a parade that the Muslim community considers offensive and which often results in violence and clashes in the narrow alleys of the old city. In a delicate year like the current one, 8 months after the Hamas attack on Israel and the Netanyahu government’s response with bombings on the Gaza Strip, the celebration risked being even more delicate and dangerous. And reality did not betray expectations, especially because there was no deviation from the traditional route that sees the procession from the Damascus Gate to the Western Wall. As he writes Times of Israel, accidents have occurred this year too. Far-right supporters threw stones at the windows and shops of the Arab community, chanting slogans such as “Death to the Arabs”, “let your village burn”. Then encouraged by the words of the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben Gvir. «We must strike them in the most important place for them, we must come and say “the Temple Mount is ours and Jerusalem is ours”», anticipated the ultranationalist Minister of National Security, who then appealed to Prime Minister Netanyahu for an expansion of the military action on the Gaza Strip and to the north against Hezbollah in Lebanon. At the end of the march at least 18 people were arrested for violent actions during the celebrations, which also saw attacks on journalists and Palestinian residents. Among the protesters were also pacifist associations, such as Stnading Together, who tried to limit the damage by taking sides themselves.
