As Jerusalem prepares to mark the 57th anniversary of its reunification, the Israeli Police have approved plans for the annual Flag March to pass through the Damascus Gate – through the Old City's Muslim Quarter – on its way to the Western Wall.

Over 3,000 police officers and border guards will secure the march and other events scheduled for Jerusalem Day. The march will commence at 4 p.m. from Safra Square, proceeding through the Old City's gates, including Damascus Gate, before culminating at the Western Wall plaza with a main ceremony at 7 p.m.

"While recent months have seen thwarted attempted attacks in the capital, there is currently no specific threat regarding the Flag March," a police spokesperson stated. Nonetheless, stringent security measures will be implemented, including aerial surveillance and undercover operations, to identify potential attackers.

Major road closures are expected from 2 p.m., disrupting traffic and public transportation in central Jerusalem. The light rail will operate partially between certain stations from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Jerusalem Day commemorates the reunification of the city during the 1967 Six-Day War, an event of profound historical and religious significance for the Jewish people. Celebrations will include guided tours, lectures, and cultural performances highlighting Jerusalem's rich heritage.

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Police data revealed this week a dramatic increase in the number of charges filed against Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount's Al-Aqsa compound for violating the rules of the site.

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The number showed that while in 2016, only one such case was recorded, by 2022, the figure increased to 63.

On the other hand, the number of indictments has decreased in recent years. In 2018, nine indictments were filed, while in 2022 only three.

Cases rarely result in indictments as while Jews are not allowed to pray, sing the national anthem, or wave an Israeli flag at the site, these are not actual legal offenses.

Of the 75 cases opened, only four made it to court, with most offenses cited as "hindering a police officer in the course of duty" or "disorderly conduct that disturbs public peace."

The data was published by Beyadenu – Returning to the Temple group, which had submitted a freedom of information request to the police.

Tom Nisani, director of Beyadenu, harshly criticized the police for the spike in the number of charges, accusing them of abusing their power.

He called on law enforcement to "start treating Jews as they treat anyone who ascends the mountain."

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Germany is suspected of instructing its diplomats in Israel not to take photographs in the Old City of Jerusalem, which they consider "occupied Palestinian territory." 

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Israel Hayom has learned that on two occasions in the recent past, diplomats staying at the King David Hotel in the capital refused to take photographs with the walls of the Old City in the background. 

The hotel is located in the heart of Jerusalem and sits along what used to be the demarcation line before the 1967 Six-Day War. The walls of the Old City are well visible from the location and diplomats usually make a point to include them in photographs. 

On both occasions, the German diplomats said the matter went against instructions and preferred a different background. 

Germany recognizes Israel according to the 1949 borders following the War of Independence and considers land seized in the Six-Day War – which includes Jerusalem's Old City, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the Golan Heights – "occupied territory." 

German diplomats are instructed not to visit these sites, considered "occupied under international law." 

According to Israeli diplomats who met with their German counterparts in Jerusalem in the past, the instructions much be fairly new as no such behavior was observed before. 

Responding to an Israel Hayom inquiry, the German Embassy in Tel Aviv said its diplomats were not restricted in the sites they could visit and photograph. It did, however, say that it advised its official delegations so in accordance with the "federal government's position regarding the status of east Jerusalem and the occupied territories – a position based on international law."

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Almost four miles of alleys in Jerusalem's Old City were recently made wheelchair-friendly, while an innovative accessibility system for visually impaired people is also being installed after ten years of work.

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"We have made the Old City of Jerusalem one of the most accessible cities in the world," Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze'ev Elkin said, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The project was carried in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Jerusalem Development Authority, and the East Jerusalem Development Company.

The alleys were made accessible to baby carriages and people in wheelchairs, who can now safely traverse between the Old City's many historical sites.

Sharp descents were flattened and railings were added to some of the steepest alleyways.

A new app called Step Hear is also making the city accessible for the visually impaired by guiding visitors between 60 different sites while providing content.

The Old City's latest accessibility is part of a broader plan to make the Holy Basin more of a magnet for visitors, Elkin said, adding that his ministry is working to develop the historic sites while maintaining the city's character.

"The Old City of Jerusalem has become one of the most accessible ancient cities in the world," he said, The Jerusalem Post reported. Achieving "accessibility for the six kilometers was very complex, and it enriches the experience of the tourists in the Old City."

i24NEWS contributed to this report. 

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Right-wing watchdog group Im Tirtzu expressed criticism this week after a replica of the Dome of the Rock – an Islamic shrine sitting atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's old city – was erected in a Palestinian neighborhood without approval from the city council. 

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It was erected in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa, reportedly through donations and by volunteers. 

According to one resident, "Those who didn't donate helped in the actual physical labor of building it. There's no external funding, only the locals."

Constructed of stainless steel at about 20 feet in diameter, it is roughly a third of the size of the original dome.

Im Tirtzu and several other right-wing organizations petitioned the city council to remove the structure based on the fact that it had been built without a permit.

The replica "represents the fact that there is no law and no enforcement in the State of Israel," Yehuda Sharabanay, Project Director of the Im Tirtzu, told i24NEWS.

"This dome was constructed illegally by the Muslim Brotherhood that placed it here in disregard of the law without any permit," he added, and stressed that while Israel revered "places of worship and other religions... the law in the State of Israel needs to be respected."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Fadi Abu Shahidam, who shot dead one Israeli and wounded four others in the Old City of Jerusalem on Nov. 21 before being shot and killed by Israeli security forces, was a well-known Hamas preacher in east Jerusalem.

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In 2020, Abu Shahidam delivered a Friday sermon in which he railed against "the Jewish and Christian masters of heresy," calling them "the leaders of injustice in our days."

"One of the fiercest forms of injustice are the repeated attacks against the Shariah [Islamic law], the opposition to the rule of the Shariah and replacing it with man-made [legal] systems," he said.

In the 2020 sermon, Abu Shahidam said "evil atheism" and "spiteful communism" were behind these so-called attacks, along with "the Jewish and Christian masters of heresy" and their "despicable followers," who he said were "the tyrannical sultans and the evil ulama [scholars], those who sold their conscience."

Abu Shahidam also claimed that women had declared war on Shariah, in particular those who had "abandoned modesty, chastity and honor and jumped on the bandwagon of CEDAW [the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]."

All of these, he said, were "the masters and leaders of injustice in our days."

"They are led by the devil, and they are funded by filthy money from those Bedouins in the United Arab Emirates," he said.

"Zionism devises sins for them, and they get their instructions from the prostitute Arab regimes and rulers," he added.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Several million shekels have been invested for a donor campaign in Jordan to renovate schools and homes of Palestinian residents of the Old City of Jerusalem, who live near the Temple Mount, President of the Jordanian Engineers Association, Majed Al Tabbaa said last week.

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Altogether, 338 Palestinian units were renovated in the Old City that house 1,698 residents. The information was published by the right-wing watchdog group Im Tirtzu and the Lach Yerushalayim ("For You, Jerusalem") advocacy group that seeks to safeguard Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.

Al Tabbaa said, "the campaign is Jordan's answer to the Balfour Declaration that allowed the Israeli occupation authorities to establish a national home on Palestinian land." He said the project did not only reflect the Engineers Association's stance, but that of the "entire Jordanian people," and represented the "residents' feelings towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Media personality Iris Jarrar, who promoted the campaign on Jordanian radio, said "the residents of the Old City are the first line of defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"Supporting the [Palestinian] families of the Old City brings us one step closer to praying in the mosque, so that soon we may broadcast from the Al Aqsa compound," she said. "Today we supported the [Palestinian] resident of Jerusalem in his opposition to the occupier."

Im Tirtzu and the Lach Yerushalayim opposed the move.

"In recent years, the State of Israel has been losing control over events in Jerusalem," they said in a joint statement. "A hostile nation whose aim is to hurt our sovereignty cannot get a say when it comes to the Israeli capital.

"Jordan is stepping up efforts in the city to undermine the legitimacy and the Jewish connection to the capital. The Israeli government must stop this meddling as soon as possible. We call on the foreign minister [Yair Lapid] and the defense minister [Benny Gantz] to stop the Jordanian invasion of Jerusalem."

Israel has cooperated with Jordan on the administration of the Al-Aqsa Compound for decades, especially ever since the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1994.

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Arab youths are once again rioting near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. Police reinforcements have been dispatched to the area to rein in the phenomenon.

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Rioters threw rocks at buses, harassed Jewish women passing by, vandalized public property, and clashed with security forces. Almost all of the 22 rioters arrested Tuesday were minors.

Security officials believe social media has played a significant role in inflaming tensions on the Arab street in the capital. They are, however, unable to pinpoint the source of their anger, leading some to believe the youths are simply acting out due to boredom. The riots are not organized affairs, and they have been localized thus far.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has ordered Border Police to send reinforcements into the city.

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Local vendors, whose sales have been hit as a result of the rioting, have spoken out against the violence.

Religious Zionism Party head Bezalel Smotrich visited the Damascus Gate area with fellow party members Wednesday.

"Sovereignty in Jerusalem cannot be captive to the hands of [Ra'am party head] Mansour Abbas. We came here because every night, Jews undergo attacks and harassment in the capital. Bennett's kowtowing to Abbas and the Islamic Movement is leading to the loss of governance over wide swathes of the country. The rioters understand that the government is limited in its ability to act against them, and they are taking advantage of this to determine facts on the ground. We are here to tell the Arab rioters and terrorists that that won't happen," he said.

Otzma Yehudit MK Itamar Ben-Gvir was among those lawmakers to accompany Smotrich. He said: "Officers who feel threatened need to act with a firm hand – and shoot if necessary. The police must be in charge. And if they want to, they can."

Meanwhile, Jewish prayer services on the Temple Mount are reportedly continuing under the radar despite the ban on non-Muslim prayer at the site.

According to The Jerusalem Post, 108 Jews visited the site on Monday and another 118 visited on Wednesday, 80 in the allotted morning hours and 38 later in the day.

The Temple Mount was closed to non-Muslims on Tuesday due to a Muslim holiday.

Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev held a meeting on Sunday with senior police officials where he noted the status-quo in place on the Temple Mount since 1967, which bans non-Muslim prayer on the site.

"In accordance with this situation, the Temple Mount will be open for visitation by non-Muslims but not for prayer," Bar-Lev said. "It is important we enforce" the continuation of this status" established by Israel in 1967, he said.

A spokesman for Bar-Lev clarified to The Jerusalem Post that his comments had not pertained to "quiet prayer," as the police cannot enforce a ban on prayer that is "in someone's heart."

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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Israeli archaeologists have found a rare ancient toilet in Jerusalem dating back more than 2,700 years, when private bathrooms were a luxury in the holy city, authorities said Tuesday.

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The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the smooth, carved limestone toilet was found in a rectangular cabin that was part of a sprawling mansion overlooking what is now the Old City. It was designed for comfortable sitting, with a deep septic tank dug underneath.

Video: Gil Mezuman / City of David

"A private toilet cubicle was very rare in antiquity, and only a few were found to date," said Yaakov Billig, the director of the excavation.

"Only the rich could afford toilets," he said, adding that a famed rabbi once suggested that to be wealthy is "to have a toilet next to his table."

Animal bones and pottery found in the septic tank could shed light on the lifestyle and diet of people living at that time, as well as ancient diseases, the IAA said.

The archaeologists found stone capitals and columns from the era, and said there was evidence of a nearby garden with orchards and aquatic plants – more evidence that those living there were quite wealthy.

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As Rosh Hashanah approaches, the Western Wall was cleared this week in a semi-annual ritual of tens of thousands of prayers and notes to God written by visitors, who stuck them between the stones of the ancient edifice.

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On Wednesday, the ritual took place with precautions against coronavirus infection in place, after a relapse in the infection rate.

Video: Reuters

Workers in protective masks held onto their sticks with gloves as they extracted the paper notes left in "God's mailbox."

Religious authorities also operate a service in which people can email their prayers for placement between the stones.

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