Five people were arrested as Jews and Palestinians clashed near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City following the visit of a far-right lawmaker Thursday evening.
Dozens gathered to protest Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai's decision to postpone a march from there to the Temple Mount for fear it could spark violence between Jews and Palestinians in the city.
Religious Zionist party MK Itamar Ben-Gvir joined the protesters, slamming the police for "capitulating to Hamas" and declaring he "won't give up" on Jerusalem and the Old City.
"The fact that a member of Knesset in Israel cannot march through the Old City is a disgrace, a capitulation to Hamas and a win for terrorism," he told the crowd while noting he did not intend to confront police. "I came here to protest the decision of a failing police commissioner. We won't give up on Jerusalem and the Old City. It is ours."
After Ben-Gvir left the area, unrest erupted as two groups flying the Israeli and Palestinian flags clashed. Police officers used riot control measures, including several stun grenades.
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Religious Zionist party MK Itamar Ben-Gvir holding the Israeli national flag during his visit to a Jewish nationalist protest by Jerusalem's Old City
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
Ministers voted Tuesday to allow the controversial far-right march to take place in Jerusalem’s Old City next Tuesday, June 15, with a new route to be decided between the rally's organizers and police.
The so-called "Flag Parade" normally takes place on Jerusalem Day that falls in May, but was interrupted this year when Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at the capital from the Gaza Strip, marking the start of an 11-day conflict between the IDF and the Palestinian enclave's terrorist factions.
It was also called off in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.