Explained: Israel’s ultra-nationalist 'flag march' in East Jerusalem

Jerusalem Day is “celebrated” annually on the 28th of Iyar, according to the Hebrew calendar, and commemorates the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem following the Six-Day War of 1967.

It is marked by a so-called ‘flag march’ attended by thousands of Israeli settlers and far-right groups.

The parade is seen as a provocative move by Palestinians, who are forced to close their shops and are banned from the social hub of Damascus Gate to make way for the marchers.

Here, we take a more in-depth look at the event’s background and the controversy around it:

History

On June 7, 1967, Israeli forces occupied the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Israeli government refers to this event as the “reunification of Jerusalem”, proclaiming the entire city as its eternal and undivided capital.

However, this claim is not internationally recognised, and East Jerusalem is seen as the capital city by the state of Palestine.

In the years following the Six-Day War, Jewish ultra-nationalist Zionist groups began organising an annual event known as the March of Flags, also called the Flag March. The march is held on Jerusalem Day and is seen as a celebration of Israel’s control over the city.

The flag march typically involves thousands of Israeli settlers parading through the alleys of the Old City’s Muslim quarter. Marchers wave Israeli flags as they make their way through the Old City, chanting anti-Arab slogans such as “May Their Village Burn,” “Death to the Arabs” and “Avenge but One of My Two Eyes”.

Petition to re-route the march

The flag march has been a source of controversy and has faced legal challenges in the past. In 2015, noting the increased presence of far-right groups directing hate towards Palestinians, several Jerusalem human rights organisations and Palestinians living in the Old City petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to re-route the parade away from the Muslim Quarter.

The petition resulted in some small changes on the ground, but the court ruled in favour of the Jewish organisers' right to march through the Muslim Quarter.

The court also established that hateful slogans like “death to Arabs” cannot be used.

What Palestinians think

Meanwhile, there are calls for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem to raise the Palestinian flag at all possible locations and display it online in response to Israel’s “flag day” provocations.

About 350,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem. They view the march as a provocative demonstration of Israeli control over East Jerusalem. They see it as a manifestation of the ongoing occupation and an infringement on their rights and aspirations.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for Hamas, described the march as inciteful and said it would force Hamas to respond to the “Israeli attempt to change and enforce a Jewish identity on the city of Jerusalem … which includes Muslim and Christian holy sites.”