Israeli nationalists march through Jerusalem in test for new government
- Riot police were out in full force for the controversial procession, while at least 17 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police firing stun grenades
- Confrontations in contested Jerusalem helped trigger 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group last month
Thousands of Israeli far-right nationalists marched in a flag-waving procession through East Jerusalem on Tuesday, an event that risked reigniting tensions with Palestinians and posed an early challenge to Israel’s new government.
Last month, Israeli-Palestinian confrontations in contested Jerusalem helped trigger 11 days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group.
On Tuesday, Israeli police in riot gear and on horseback cordoned off areas leading to the walled Old City’s flashpoint Damascus Gate, clearing the area of Palestinians.
Dancing and singing “the people of Israel live” the crowd of mostly religious Jews, carrying blue and white Israeli flags, then filled the plaza in front of the gate, usually a popular social gathering spot for Palestinians.
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“Take a good look at our flag. Live and suffer,” one marcher, a megaphone in one hand and a cigar in the other, shouted in Hebrew at Palestinian merchants on the other side of police barriers erected on an East Jerusalem street.