The Jerusalem flag march marking the reunification of the capital in 1967 took place on Tuesday under heavy security and amid ongoing threats by Hamas to resume hostilities.
The marchers were hurled rocks and insults by Arab rioters shortly after the march got underway and clashes were reported, but it proceeded as planned with at least 2,500 youths dancing with flags as they walked from Jaffa Gate to Damascus Gate. Riots near the Justice Ministry led to the evacuation of the employees for their safety.
Even before the official start of the march around 6 p.m., hundreds of youths with Israeli flags started dancing at the Jaffa Gate plaza just off the old city in anticipation of the event. The official route was not supposed to go through the Muslim Quarter, in an attempt to avoid friction and a large police presence was felt all across the area, particularly at the Damascus Gate, the endpoint for the march, where thousands were expected to dance.
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After several weeks of debates and a postponement of the rally because of the tensions with Arab extremists and Hamas, Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev gave the go-ahead Monday afternoon.
Israeli security forces have been heavily deployed throughout Jerusalem and Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved a series of targets in Gaza for the IDF to attack if Hamas fires missiles at Israel, and additional Iron Dome batteries have been deployed at various locations. Flights landing at Tel Aviv's main airport were also given a special route.
The original march was canceled at the very last minute in May just before Operation Guardian of the Walls because of various threats from Hamas and extremists to disrupt Jerusalem Day events. That escalation led to the 11-day operation with Hamas, which resulted in a shaky truce.
Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Arab Ra'am party, called Tuesday's march "a reckless provocation, the aim of which is to call for hatred and incitement, and an attempt to strike up a conflict for political reasons."
"The public security minister and the police should have canceled it. I call on all sides not to get dragged into an escalation and show maximum restraint. No doubt the aim of the march organizers is to challenge the new government and exhaust it through a series of volatile events in the near future and to take us back to an unnecessary escalation that will endanger human lives we experienced in recent months."
He continued: "Ra'am is calling to invest political efforts to reach a political arrangement between the two people – Israelis and Palestinians – that would fulfill the vision we strive for: achieving peace, mutual security, cooperation and empathy between the two nations. That is the only vision that can put an end to a bloody conflict."
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