Latest news with #IsraeliNationalists
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Scuffles, insults as Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day under shadow of Gaza war
Police confront young Israelis marching during an event commemorating the 1967 seizure of east Jerusalem. (AP pic) JERUSALEM : Crowds of Israelis streamed through Jerusalem's Old City, where some scuffled with residents and hurled insults at Palestinians, as annual celebrations of Israel's capture of east Jerusalem took place on Monday. Jerusalem Day, as the celebrations are known, commemorates Israeli forces taking east Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. 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 Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, to mark the occasion, which was being held for a second year under the shadow of the war in Gaza. '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. The Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam's third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity. The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest place, though Jews are forbidden from praying there. Every year, thousands of Israeli nationalists, many of them religious Jews, march through Jerusalem and its annexed Old City, including in predominantly Palestinian neighbourhoods, waving Israeli flags, dancing and sometimes accosting residents. 'Our one and only holy city' The route 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.' 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. As evening settled in, large crowds had congregated to celebrate at the holy site. Authorities sometimes order Palestinian shops in the Old City to shut, though business owners this year said they had mostly closed down out of fear of harassment. Outside the Old City, former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin was advertising his far-right political party Identity. 'Every nation and every religion has its capital… but for some reason, all the nations want a part of our one and only holy city,' he said. 'Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and only to the Jews,' he added. This year's Jerusalem Day comes amid renewed calls by some Israeli right-wing figures to annex more Palestinian territory as the war in Gaza rages. On Monday, the Israeli army said three projectiles were launched from Gaza, two falling inside the territory and one intercepted. In 2021, Hamas launched rockets towards Jerusalem as marchers approached the Old City, sparking a 12-day war in Gaza and outbreaks of violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. A 'different kind of Jerusalem' Israel banned the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating in east Jerusalem earlier this year over accusations it provided cover for Hamas militants, and on Monday, a group of Israelis forced their way into one its vacated compounds in the city. 'The group asserted they were 'liberating'' the facility, UNWRA West Bank director Roland Friedrich said on X. 'The group brought flags and erected banners, seeking to claim the compound for the establishment of a new Israeli neighbourhood. Israeli police, alerted to the scene, failed to protect the inviolability of the @UN premises.' The police, who deployed in force, said that over the course of the day 'officers have handled numerous cases of suspects involved in public disturbances'. In the morning, peace activists handed out flowers to challenge what they saw as the main march's divisive message. Orly Likhovski of the Israel Religious Action Center said those taking part in the peace event were 'not willing to accept that this day is marked by violence and racism', adding they hoped to represent 'a Jewish voice for a different kind of Jerusalem'. Some Palestinians accepted the flowers, but one elderly man near Damascus Gate politely refused, saying: 'Do you see what is happening in Gaza? I'm sorry, but I cannot accept.' In a rare move, the Israeli cabinet met nearby in the predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, home to an archaeological site known as the City of David – believed to mark the biblical location of Jerusalem. At the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to 'keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under Israeli sovereignty'. Since June 1967, Israeli settlement in the eastern part of the city – considered illegal under international law – has expanded, drawing regular international criticism.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia Slams Israeli Officials for Storming Al-Aqsa Compound
Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Tuesday the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israeli officials under the protection of Israeli forces. A Foreign Ministry statement said the Kingdom 'continues to condemn the ongoing blatant Israeli violations of international law and the repeated heinous attacks on the mosque.' It reiterated its 'categorical rejection of all attempts to alter the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.' Saudi Arabia called on the international community 'to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their dangerous and ongoing violations against Islamic sanctities and innocent civilians in the state of Palestine.' Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and hundreds of Israeli nationalists visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday where they performed 'provocative' rituals at its squares amid heightened security measures. Palestinian traders in Jerusalem's Old City returned to their shops on Tuesday to clean up a day after a march by Israeli nationalists that saw scuffles, insults and acts of vandalism. Some had to use crowbars, hammers and wirecutters to regain access to their own shops after many were vandalized during the 'Jerusalem Day' march the day before. On Tuesday, metal shutters protecting the shopfronts bore the marks of the parade's passing, with padlocks blocked and stickers slapped upon them, AFP reported. 'No humanitarian aid for Gaza,' read one sticker from Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power).
ABC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Israelis chant 'death to Arabs' in annual 'Dance of the Flags' march through Jerusalem
Young Israeli nationalists have torn through Jerusalem's Old City chanting "death to Arabs" and harassing Palestinians ahead of the yearly commemorations for the capturing of East Jerusalem by Israel. Thousands took part in the Jerusalem Day "Dance of the Flags", marching to Damascus Gate and onwards to the Western Wall on a hot Monday evening. The event is provocative to the Palestinian population, given it marks the anniversary of Israel seizing East Jerusalem and the Old City during the 1967 war, and the group marches through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City demanding the Arab population leave. In the shadow of the Gaza war, one of the most prominent banners held by those marching read "Jerusalem in our hands, 1967. Gaza in our hands, 2025". In the hours before the march arrived at the Old City, right-wing nationalists were already wandering the narrow, winding streets and harassing people inside the city walls. One teenager tried to set fire to a small copy of the Koran near Damascus Gate, proudly displaying his inflammatory act to his friends. Another group set upon a number of Palestinian women, surrounding and spitting on them while making noises like monkeys or chimps, while an elderly man was knocked to the ground and needed help from paramedics. Many of the nationalists remonstrated with members of the media, trying to push cameras out of the way while they tore through the streets. Police used pepper spray to force some to scatter. They chanted "death to Arabs", "may your village burn" and "the people of Israel live". Volunteers from Standing Together, an Israeli-Palestinian peace and social justice organisation, were stationed throughout the city trying to calm the crowds — sometimes putting themselves between the Israeli nationalists and members of the Palestinian community. One woman, named Inayat, said it was her birthday and she had been travelling to the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. "I came and everyone spat on me," she said with saliva visible on her headscarf. "Why, I do not know. I did nothing, it's not OK what they did." Israeli Yair Sussman was among those marching, and insisted Palestinians needed to move out of the city — even if it was a slow process. "Eventually, all of Jerusalem will be ours," he said. "The people of Israel are not afraid of a long route." Most of the Palestinian stores in the Old City closed down ahead of the march to avoid being targeted by the nationalists. Mohammad Abdeen was one of the store owners hoping to stay open despite the threat from the Israelis marching through the Old City. "Here in my store, they broke some of my goods last year, one of them stole things from my store, but we can't just close and leave the city for them — we have to remain steadfast," he said. "Everyone is very stressed and angry about this situation, because it's not a comfortable situation. "At any time, something unexpected may happen — God willing, everything will be fine." Peace activists were also wandering through the city, handing out fresh flowers to people. "That's the symbol that Jerusalem stands for, the universe. "It is the city that is a symbol for a possibility of a different way of living." Israel's controversial far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, was mobbed by the crowds at the Damascus Gate when he arrived in the early evening. He is one of the loudest voices in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet demanding, among other things, an expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the continuation of the war in Gaza. Earlier in the day, he had travelled to the Temple Mount precinct — which is solely reserved for Muslim worship — and insisted it was government policy to overturn that rule. "There are truly many Jews flooding the Temple Mount — how nice to see that," he said in a video posted on social media. "Today, thanks to God, it is possible to pray on the Temple Mount, to bow on the Temple Mount, we thank God for that. "And we will continue, continue, continue — we are here in prayer for the safety of the hostages, that they all return home safely, for victory in the war." On Jerusalem Day, Mr Netanyahu held a special cabinet meeting in East Jerusalem. "We never forget Jerusalem," he said. "Jerusalem, the bird of our soul, is the heart of the nation. "If you remove the heart from the body, the body will not exist, and therefore we will not allow anyone to remove Jerusalem from our hands." The status of Jerusalem is one of the most divisive issues in the discussion about a two-state solution in the Middle East, with both Israelis and Palestinians believing it is intrinsically linked to their identity. Most countries do not recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel because of that unsettled debate.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Scuffles, insults as Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day under shadow of Gaza war
JERUSALEM: Crowds of Israelis streamed through Jerusalem's Old City, where some scuffled with residents and hurled insults at Palestinians, as annual celebrations of Israel's capture of east Jerusalem took place on Monday. Jerusalem Day, as the celebrations are known, commemorates Israeli forces taking east Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, its indivisible capital. The international community, however, does not recognize this, and Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, to mark the occasion, which was being held for a second year under the shadow of the war in Gaza. '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. The Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam's third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity. The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest place, though Jews are forbidden from praying there. Every year, thousands of Israeli nationalists, many of them religious Jews, march through Jerusalem and its annexed Old City, including in predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods, waving Israeli flags, dancing and sometimes accosting residents. The route 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.' 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. As evening settled in, large crowds had congregated to celebrate at the holy site. Authorities sometimes order Palestinian shops in the Old City to shut, though business owners this year said they had mostly closed down out of fear of harassment. Outside the Old City, former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin was advertising his far-right political party Identity. 'Every nation and every religion has its capital... but for some reason, all the nations want a part of our one and only holy city,' he said. 'Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and only to the Jews,' he added. This year's Jerusalem Day comes amid renewed calls by some Israeli right-wing figures to annex more Palestinian territory as the war in Gaza rages. On Monday, the Israeli army said three projectiles were launched from Gaza, two falling inside the territory and one intercepted. In 2021, Hamas launched rockets toward Jerusalem as marchers approached the Old City, sparking a 12-day war in Gaza and outbreaks of violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel banned the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating in east Jerusalem earlier this year over accusations it provided cover for Hamas militants, and on Monday, a group of Israelis forced their way into one its vacated compounds in the city. 'The group asserted they were 'liberating'' the facility, UNWRA West Bank director Roland Friedrich said on X. 'The group brought flags and erected banners, seeking to claim the compound for the establishment of a new Israeli neighborhood. Israeli police, alerted to the scene, failed to protect the inviolability of the @UN premises.' The police, who deployed in force, said that over the course of the day 'officers have handled numerous cases of suspects involved in public disturbances.' In the morning, peace activists handed out flowers to challenge what they saw as the main march's divisive message. Orly Likhovski of the Israel Religious Action Center said those taking part in the peace event were 'not willing to accept that this day is marked by violence and racism,' adding they hoped to represent 'a Jewish voice for a different kind of Jerusalem.' Some Palestinians accepted the flowers, but one elderly man near Damascus Gate politely refused, saying: 'Do you see what is happening in Gaza? I'm sorry, but I cannot accept.' In a rare move, the Israeli cabinet met nearby in the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, home to an archaeological site known as the City of David — believed to mark the biblical location of Jerusalem. At the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to 'keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under Israeli sovereignty.' Since June 1967, Israeli settlement in the eastern part of the city — considered illegal under international law — has expanded, drawing regular international criticism.
News24
7 days ago
- Politics
- News24
Israel deploys thousands of police as Jerusalem Day commemorations begin under shadow of Gaza war
Israel police are on standby for Jerusalem Day commemorations. The day is usually marred by skirmishes. Israel considers Jerusalem its indivisible capital. Israeli police were deploying near the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday ahead of an annual event marking Israel's capture of east Jerusalem, held this year under the shadow of the war in Gaza. Jerusalem Day, or 'Yom Yerushalayim' in Hebrew, commemorates what Israel considers the reunification of the city under its authority in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Every year, thousands of Israeli nationalists, many of them religious Jews, march through the streets of Jerusalem and its annexed Old City, including in predominantly Arab neighbourhoods, waving Israeli flags, dancing and sometimes shouting inflammatory slogans. The route will ultimately take them to the Western Wall - the last remnant of the Second Temple, destroyed in the year 70 by the Romans and the most sacred place where Jews are allowed to pray. Jerusalem Day events began the evening before, as is common with Jewish holidays, with a crowd unfurling a massive Israeli flag on Sunday in the plaza facing the Western Wall. Local authorities sometimes compel Palestinian businesses within the Old City to close for the march, which many Palestinians consider a deliberate provocation. Palestinians claim the city's eastern sector as the capital of their future state. It is the second time the event is being held since the start of the war in Gaza. Skirmishes are common during the event, especially in the streets of the Old City, where some marchers have been known to chant racist slogans. It is the second time the event is being held since the start of the war in Gaza. In 2024, two journalists, including a Palestinian photographer, were assaulted by teenagers participating in the march. In 2021, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Jerusalem as the march began heading toward the Old City, sparking a 12-day war with Israel, as well as outbreaks of violence in Israel between Jews and Arabs. Monday's march will take place for a second consecutive year against the backdrop of Israel's current war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the group's 7 October 2023 attack. The war has revived talk among right-wing figures in Israel about annexing Palestinian territory. Thousands filled the Western Wall Plaza last night to celebrate Jerusalem Day - marking 58 years since the reunification of our eternal capital in 1967. With song, prayer, and flags waving, we honored Jerusalem—and prayed for the safe return of our 58 hostages. 💙🇮🇱 📸… — Israel ישראל (@Israel) May 26, 2025 The police said on Sunday that they were deploying 'thousands' of officers across the city to 'ensure the security and safety of the public'. In a unique wrinkle to this year's observances, the Israeli cabinet is set to meet nearby on the outskirts of the Old City on Monday in the predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. Silwan houses an important archaeological site known as the City of David, considered the location of the ancient city of Jerusalem during the time of the biblical ruler. Since June 1967, Israeli settlement in the eastern part of the city - considered illegal under international law - has expanded, drawing regular international criticism. Israel considers Jerusalem its indivisible capital, though the international community does not recognise this. During his first term, however, US President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem after declaring the city Israel's capital. On Sunday evening, his ambassador to the country, Mike Huckabee, and visiting US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem briefly attended the commemorations at the Western Wall.
