] Israelis gather with flags by Damascus Gate to Jerusalem’s Old City, as they mark Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Far-Right Violence Erupts at Jerusalem Flag March Amid Regional Tensions
JERUSALEM, May 27 (Reuters) — A major nationalist rally in Jerusalem commemorating Israel’s 1967 capture of the city’s eastern sector descended into violence on Monday as far-right Israeli participants attacked Palestinians, left-wing Israelis, and journalists in the Old City, according to eyewitness accounts.
The annual “Flag March,” which drew tens of thousands of mostly young right-wing Israelis, was marred by aggressive confrontations. Participants shouted incendiary slogans, including “Death to Arabs,” and targeted Palestinian residents, left-wing activists, and members of the press. In several incidents, journalists were spat on and physically harassed, with police failing to intervene. No arrests were reported by late afternoon.
The unrest followed a controversial visit earlier in the day by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound — a highly sensitive religious site in East Jerusalem, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Ben Gvir claimed in a video that the site was “already open for Jewish prayer,” a position in defiance of longstanding international agreements.
Confrontations and Harassment
The violence began shortly after midday when right-wing marchers, many from West Bank settlements, began harassing Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City. Witnesses reported that the few shops that had remained open were soon shuttered under pressure.
Israeli left-wing activists attempting to escort threatened Palestinians away from the crowd were also targeted. A Reuters witness described scenes of chaos, where Israeli police declined to intervene or detain underage perpetrators.
One police officer stated that arrests could not be made because the offenders were minors.
Political Reactions
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a cabinet meeting held in East Jerusalem, reaffirmed Israel’s claim over the entire city:
“We will keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under Israeli sovereignty.”
In contrast, opposition leader Yair Golan, a former deputy commander of the Israeli military, condemned the violence:
“This is not what loving Jerusalem looks like. This is what hatred, racism and bullying look like.”
The Palestinian Authority and Jordan, custodian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, condemned Ben Gvir’s visit and the broader march, calling it a threat to regional stability.
Palestinian presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said such “provocative acts,” combined with the ongoing war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, “threaten the stability of the entire region.”
Context and Broader Implications
The rally, seen by many as a symbol of Israeli ultranationalism, frequently triggers violence. It traces a route through Muslim-majority areas of the Old City to the Western Wall, adjacent to Al-Aqsa. In 2021, the march contributed to a flare-up that escalated into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
This year’s march occurred as the Gaza war enters its 20th month, with rising hostilities in both Gaza and the West Bank. The war began after Hamas’ October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 and led to 251 hostages being taken into Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
The Israeli military campaign in Gaza has since killed nearly 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated large parts of the territory.
Israel seized East Jerusalem, including the Old City, from Jordan during the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the future capital of an independent state. Most of the international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, deeming it occupied territory.
However, in 2017, then-President Donald Trump recognized the entire city as Israel’s capital and relocated the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Sunday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, praised the 1967 event as Jerusalem’s “reunification.”
Personal Accounts
Naomi Hirschler, a 39-year-old Israeli hairdresser, expressed her joy at the rally despite the tensions:
“It’s something you can’t explain. You feel it. It’s happiness from inside… I’m very happy that we have Jerusalem for us.”
In stark contrast, scenes of Palestinian-owned shops shuttered under duress and streets filled with young settlers carrying rifles painted a portrait of division in the contested city.
Despite heightened tensions and regional warnings, no substantive measures were taken by police or authorities to prevent the violence or enforce accountability for the assaults witnessed during the march.
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