Palestine condemns Israel's plan to hold 'flag march' in Jerusalem

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian presidency’s spokesman has condemned the Israeli government’s plan to hold the controversial “flag march” in East Jerusalem as scheduled on Thursday.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Wednesday in a press statement that “organising such a provocative act would only lead to more tension and would blow up more violence”.

He added that the Israeli government’s insistence on holding the march in Jerusalem “shows the acquiescence of this government to the Jewish extremists”.

The march is aimed at marking Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a Likud party meeting that “the flag march will take place according to its planned path”.

Nearly 3,300 police officers would be dispatched to maintain public order, and 37 activists, including Jews, had been dispelled from Jerusalem in case of their disruptive attempts during the event, Israeli media reported.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry vowed in a statement to “hold the Israeli government fully and directly responsible for the march of flags and its results and repercussions, not only in Jerusalem but also in the conflict arena”.

In 2022, the march entered the old city of Jerusalem from Damascus Gate and Hebron Gate in the Palestinian part of Jerusalem to commemorate the anniversary, causing clashes with the Palestinians.

The one in 2021 sparked a heavy fighting between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza that lasted for 11 days.