- Title: Scuffles break out as Israelis march through Old City during Jerusalem day
- Date: 5th June 2024
- Summary: JERUSALEM (JUNE 5, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELIS CARRYING FLAGS AND ARRIVING AT DAMASCUS GATE AS PART OF JERUSALEM DAY RALLY VARIOUS OF ISRAELIS DANCING NEAR DAMASCUS GATE ISRAELIS WALKING INSIDE THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM ISRAELIS GATHERING AT DAMASCUS GATE VARIOUS OF ISRAELIS WALKING TOWARD OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM ISRAELI MAN USING PLAYING WITH JEWISH SHOFAR (SOUNDBIT
- Embargoed: 19th June 2024 18:12
- Keywords: Gaza Hamas Israel Jerusalem Palestinians
- Location: JERUSALEM
- City: JERUSALEM
- Country: Jerusalem
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA003829905062024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of Israeli police deployed in the streets of Jerusalem on Wednesday (June 5) for the annual Flag Day procession that marks Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in 1967 and has in the past led to clashes between marchers and Palestinians.
There were minor scuffles in the Old City on Wednesday which saw police leading away some marchers and standing outside a Palestinian shop, preventing marchers from approaching it.
The walled Old City of Jerusalem, home to some of the holiest sites of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions, has been a regular flashpoint for trouble, often from visitors from outside the area, where the three communities live in close proximity among the narrow alleyways.
The march this year takes place as the war in Gaza approaches the start of its ninth month, adding to concerns of wider violence.
Thousands of marchers carrying blue and white Israeli flags participated in the parade through the narrow streets of the Old City, where many Palestinian shopkeepers shutter their businesses for fear of racist violence.
A police spokesperson said more than 3,000 police would be on duty to "maintain the routine of life as much as possible."
Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, which it seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally, as the "eternal and undivided" capital of the Jewish state.
Palestinians see the march as a blatant provocation aimed at undermining their claim to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. According to some social media outlets, there were groups of Jewish youths chant slogans including "Death to Arabs!"
(Production: Eli Berlzon, Dedi Hayun, Sinan Abu Mayzer, Ilan Rosenberg, Nathan Frandino , Roleen Tafakji, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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