Thousands of Israeli Jewish youths marched through Jerusalem's Old City to the Western Wall on Sunday in the annual "Flag Dance" parade celebrating the reunification of the city in the 1967 Six-Day War.
About 3,000 security personnel were deployed across the city ahead of the event, which in the past has drawn anger from Palestinian residents in east Jerusalem.
This year's march came a day before the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, a move by U.S. President Donald Trump that has angered the Palestinians and many Arab nations.
The embassy move is the most tangible result so far since Trump's decision last December to break with decades of U.S. policy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Several small altercations occurred between Israelis and Palestinians near Damascus Gate at the beginning of the parade, and several Palestinians were arrested.
Israel Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said thousands of undercover and uniformed officers had been deployed to protect an estimated 30,000 people taking part in Jerusalem Day events throughout the city.
The police "will show zero tolerance toward public disturbances or demonstrations of verbal or physical violence during the parade. Those who break the law will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," according to a police statement Sunday.
Previous parades have been marred by skirmishes between Palestinians in east Jerusalem and far-right activists, who would often provoke them with racist chants and slurs.
This year, however, the police acted swiftly to quash provocations and the parade was held in peace.



