Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh describes the planned march as ‘a provocation of our people’. Decision comes hours after Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Israel’s new government has allowed a controversial march by far-right nationalists and pro-settler groups through occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, a move that might exacerbate tensions with Palestinians just hours after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took power.
Several right-wing Israeli groups are set to take part in a so-called “March of the Flags” through the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate and into the Muslim sector on Tuesday, bringing threats of further confrontations from Hamas, which administers the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
The decision comes as tensions in East Jerusalem remain high over Israel’s planned forced eviction of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah.
It also comes as a fragile ceasefire in the beleaguered Gaza Strip holds after Israel’s 11-day military assault on the enclave killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children. During the uptick in violence, Palestinian armed groups fired rockets into Gaza, killing at least 13 Israelis.
Palestinian groups have called for a “day of wrath” in response to the march. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in Israeli crackdowns on protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound last month.
“This is a provocation of our people and an aggression against our Jerusalem and our holy sites,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said of the march.
According to Israeli media, freshly sworn-in Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev approved the march and stated police were adequately prepared after meeting with Israel’s police chief and other security authorities.
“[Great] efforts are being undertaken to preserve the delicate fabric of life and public security,” Barlev was quoted as saying.
It was unclear whether participants would be permitted to access the Muslim sector of the Old City, which Israeli authorities have previously prohibited.
Tensions in Jerusalem had risen to the point where an original march scheduled for May 10 had to be relocated at the last minute.
If it goes forward, Hamas has threatened further confrontations, and Israeli media reported that the military had made preparations for a future escalation.
The US embassy in Jerusalem has prohibited its personnel and their families from entering the Old City on Tuesday “due to calls for a Jerusalem Flag March and possible counter-demonstrations”.
Bennett’s cabinet, which was confirmed by a 60-59 vote in parliament on Sunday, faces an immediate challenge from the march.
A change in the march’s path or cancellation might lead to charges from Netanyahu, who is now in opposition, and his right-wing backers that Israel is giving Hamas veto power over events in Jerusalem.
Yoav Segalovitz, a deputy internal security minister, said that a route change could be in the works, saying that previous governments had prohibited nationalists from visiting Muslim sites during times of crisis.
“The main thing is to consider what’s the right thing to do at this time,” he told Israel’s Kan radio.
Bennett’s coalition of right-wing, centrist, left-wing, and Arab parties, with little in common other than a desire to remove Netanyahu, put an end to coalition-building attempts following Israel’s fourth election in two years on March 23.
Netanyahu reaffirmed his threat to collapse his administration minutes after meeting Bennett, 49, on his first full day in office.
With any internal strife posing a threat to the country’s stability, Israel’s new government aims to concentrate on domestic reforms and the economy, avoiding matters such as Palestinian policy.
