JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli officials are concerned there could be more bloodshed in Jerusalem this week over a planned right-wing nationalist march through the Old City of Jerusalem.
The march is scheduled to go through the Muslim quarter of the Old City, raising fears that the demonstration could provoke further violence in Israel.
The flag march is held every year on Jerusalem Day, which was on May 10 this year. However, the march was interrupted after Hamas fired rockets towards Jerusalem, setting off an 11-day war between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip.
Senior police officials reportedly backed a plan Sunday night to reroute the march to avoid the Damascus Gate and Muslim Quarter. Police are waiting on the government to give final approval for the plan, Army Radio and Channel 12 reported.
On Saturday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with military officials and issued a statement saying he would push for the march to be canceled if it “requires extraordinary security measures and endangers public order and diplomatic processes.”
Far-right Religious Zionism MK Itamar Ben Gvir expressed outrage over discussions to reroute or cancel the event, saying he would use his parliamentary immunity to march through the Muslim Quarter with Israeli flags if police stop the march.
“It is unacceptable for the Israeli government to surrender to Hamas and allow it to dictate the agenda. It is the right of every Jew to march throughout Jerusalem, and that is precisely why I was elected to the Knesset — in order to preserve the right of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel,” he said.
The Palestinian Fatah party called on its members to confront the Israeli demonstrators in Jerusalem. The party urged them “to stand together effectively, to defend Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites, and to confront the march of the extremist settlers.”
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Several former top police officials have urged police to stop the event.
“The march must not be authorized and a [cancellation] order needs to be issued because of a ‘real danger to public safety,’”Arieh Amit, a former Jerusalem District police commander, told Channel 12 news. “Not because of Hamas’s warnings but because it is completely clear that this is an attempt to ignite East Jerusalem.”
He said the event was scheduled only for Jerusalem Day and should not happen whenever organizers “feel like it.”
Former police chief Moshe Karadi told the channel he wouldn’t recommend canceling the event altogether but supports rerouting it to ensure everyone’s safety.
“East Jerusalem is currently full of oil vapors and just one small match is needed to set it aflame. A march passing through the Damascus Gate and by way of the Temple Mount gates is exactly the same match that may set the area ablaze,” Karadi said.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning him of the rising tensions in the Holy City and international pressure.
“Even before [the war with Gaza], and even more so after it, we are witnessing a significant increase in international sensitivity in relation to what is happening in Jerusalem,” the letter read.
Netanyahu has not commented on the march.
The march comes as Netanyahu’s political opponents seek to swear in a new governing coalition this week, which would end his 12-year reign as Israel’s prime minister.
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s shadowy security agency, warned against incitement and said it could lead to violence amid this politically sensitive time.
“As someone who leads an organization meant to protect the nation’s security, democratic regime and institutions, I am calling and warning that this discourse may be interpreted by certain groups or lone wolves as permission for violence and illegal activity that could lead to physical harm,” Shin Bet Chief Nadav Argaman warned.
He was referring primarily to threats against Naftali Bennett, a right-wing leader who would succeed Netanyahu as prime minister if the new government is sworn in.
Argaman called on political leaders to help ease tensions. “The obligation to calm tensions and to restrain the discourse falls on all of our shoulders,” Argaman said.
Netanyahu condemned “all incitement and violence” on Sunday and added that he would “vehemently oppose” the establishment of the new government or “overthrow it very quickly.”
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