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Qatar Tribune
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Far-right Israelis storm Al-Aqsa, UNRWA compounds amid Jerusalem Day march
Right-wing Israelis in Jerusalem have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and a United Nations facility for Palestinian refugees as an annual march took place marking Israel's conquest of the eastern part of the city. Some Israelis chanted, 'Death to Arabs' and 'May your village burn,' as they marched through the alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday, going through the Muslim quarter to mark 'Jerusalem Day', which commemorates the Israeli occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. Thousands of heavily armed police and border police were dispatched in advance because settlers regularly assault, attack and harass Palestinians and shops in the Muslim quarter. The settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Groups of young people, some carrying Israeli flags, were seen on Monday confronting Palestinian shopkeepers, passers-by 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. Police detained at least two youths, according to AFP journalists at the scene. A small group of those rallying, including an Israeli member of parliament, stormed a compound in East Jerusalem belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. Israel has banned the agency from working in occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel, impacting the life-saving work that it has been carrying out for more than 70 years in areas that include the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip. UNRWA West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said about a dozen Israeli protesters, including Yulia Malinovsky, one of the legislators behind an Israeli law that banned UNRWA, entered the compound, climbing its main gate in view of Israeli police. Last year's procession, held during the first year of Israel's assault on Gaza, saw ultranationalist Israelis attack a Palestinian journalist in the Old City and call for violence against Palestinians. And four years ago, the march contributed to the outbreak of an 11-day war in Gaza. Earlier on Monday, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and other politicians were among more than 2,000 Israelis who stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and surrounding areas. Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Vaserlauf and Knesset member Yitzhak Kreuzer were among those accompanying the ultranationalist minister. The Jerusalem Waqf – the Islamic authority that oversees the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) – decried the storming of the compound by Ben-Gvir and other members of the Israeli Knesset and called for a halt to all 'provocative activities' in the area. Under the management of the Jordan-appointed Waqf, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the compound. (Agencies)
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First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Israeli nationalists march in Jerusalem, chant anti-Arab slogans, storm UN compound
Jerusalem (AP) Chanting 'Death to Arabs' and singing 'May your village burn,' groups of young Israeli Jews made their way through Muslim neighborhoods of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday ahead of an annual march marking Israel's conquest of the eastern part of the city.. read more Israeli youths argue with police during a march marking Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, in Jerusalem's Old City, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo) Young ultranationalist Israelis marched through Muslim quarters of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday, chanting 'Death to Arabs' and 'May your village burn,' hours before the start of the annual Jerusalem Day parade. The event commemorates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, but its nationalist overtones and history of incitement have long made it a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian tensions. In anticipation of the march, Palestinian shopkeepers shuttered early and Israeli police lined the narrow alleyways of the Old City. At one point, a police officer was seen warmly greeting a marcher, highlighting the celebratory tone among participants, despite the heavy police presence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, a group of Israeli demonstrators, including a sitting member of parliament, forcefully entered a compound belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in east Jerusalem. The UN compound, mostly empty since January due to security threats, remains under UN ownership and is protected by international law. UNRWA's West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said Israeli lawmaker Yulia Malinovsky was among those who climbed over the gate in view of Israeli police. Authorities offered no immediate comment. Jerusalem lies at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, who each see the city as a key part of their national and religious identity. It is one of the most intractable issues of the conflict and often emerges as a flashpoint. Last year's procession, which came during the first year of the war in Gaza, saw ultranationalist Israelis attack a Palestinian journalist in the Old City and call for violence against Palestinians. Four years ago, the march helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza. Tour buses carrying young ultranationalist Jews lined up near entrances to the Old City, bringing hundreds from outside Jerusalem, including settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Police said they would maintain order and urged the public to refrain from taunting and violence. Volunteers from the pro-peace organizations Standing Together and Free Jerusalem tried to position themselves between the marchers and residents to prevent violence. 'This is our home, this is our state,' shouted one protester at a Palestinian woman. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Go away from here!' she responded, in Hebrew. Increased Jewish visits to a flashpoint holy site Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the country's police force, visited a flashpoint hilltop compound holy to Jews and Muslims, where the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located today. One Israeli lawmaker, Yitzhak Kroizer, could be seen praying. Perceived encroachments by Jews on the site have set off widespread violence on a number of occasions going back decades. 'We are marking a holiday for Jerusalem,' Ben-Gvir said Monday at the site, accompanied by other lawmakers and a rabbi. 'There are truly many Jews flooding the Temple Mount. How nice to see that.' Beyadenu, an activist group that encourages Jewish visits to the site, said dozens of people had ascended to the holy compound on Monday draped in the Israeli flag, and had prayed there. Since Israel captured the site in 1967, a tenuous understanding between Israeli and Muslim religious authorities at the compound has allowed Jews — who revere the site as the Temple Mount, the location of the biblical temples — to visit but not pray there. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ben-Gvir says he is changing that status quo. Palestinians already say it has long been eroding because of an increase in Jewish visits to the site. 'Today, thank God, it is possible to pray on the Temple Mount,' Ben-Gvir said at the site, according to a statement from his office. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in the past there has been no change to the status quo. Police said that Monday's march would not enter the site. Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal, undivided capital. Its annexation of east Jerusalem is not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital. For many in Israel, Jerusalem Day is a joyous occasion that marks a moment of redemption in their country's history, when access to the key Jewish holy site of the Western Wall was restored and the city was unified. But over recent years, the Jerusalem Day march in the city has become dominated by young nationalist and religious Israelis and on some occasions has descended into violence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Protesters storm UN compound in Jerusalem UNRWA West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said around a dozen Israeli protesters, including Yulia Malinovsky, one of the legislators behind an Israeli law that banned UNRWA, forcefully entered the compound, climbing its main gate in view of Israeli police. Israel has accused the agency, which is the biggest aid provider in Gaza, of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations denied by the UN. There was no immediate comment from Israeli police. The compound has stood mainly empty since the end of January, after UNRWA asked staff not to work from there, fearing for their safety. The UN says it has not vacated the compound and that it is protected under international law. With inputs from agencies
