Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaredon Wednesday at an official ceremony marking Jerusalem Day that Jerusalem will never be divided again.
"We won't go back to the days we had to climb up the Terra Sancta building to watch the Old City; we'll never go back to a divided, lacerated city, because the day Jerusalem was reunified – the wound healed," he said.
The event, held at the Ammunition Hill, was attended by President Shimon Peres, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, as well as other officials.
President Shimon Peres recalledthe moment the city was liberated: "The day after the liberation of Temple Mount by the paratroopers, they started singing Hatikvah.
- "This is a Jerusalem that asks for peace and is open to the prayers of all religions; Jerusalem is the bright beacon of democracy, in which people can live regardless of their religion, nationality and in the big shadow of the conflict," he added.
Earlier, thousands marched from Sheikh Jarrah to the Western Wall in the traditional "Flag Dance" procession. At the same time, left wing activists and Sheikh Jarrah residents held a protest for "Jewish-Arab solidarity against the apartheid."
During the protest clashes erupted between left wing activists from Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity and participants of the "Flag Dance" procession near the Tomb of Simeon the Just. Police arrested two protesters.