Jerusalem parade gets go-ahead amid Israeli-Palestininian unrest
JERUSALEM — Police on Sunday gave the go-ahead to the annual Jerusalem Day parade, a flag-waving display of Israeli claims to all of the contested city, despite days of unrest and soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a flashpoint holy site.
Today’s parade was scheduled to pass through Jerusalem’s Old City, part of east Jerusalem, which was captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The march was approved amid ongoing clashes between police and Palestinians in the Old City, the emotional epicenter of the long-running conflict, and in a nearby Arab neighborhood where Jewish settlers are trying to evict dozens of Palestinians from their homes.
Before dawn Sunday, thousands of Muslim worshippers skirmished anew with police at the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City. Videos on social media showed Palestinians hurling water bottles and rocks at officers, who fired stun grenades.
Amos Gilad, a former senior defense official, told Army Radio that the Jerusalem Day parade should be canceled or rerouted away from the Old City’s Damascus Gate, saying “the powder keg is burning and can explode at any time.” Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the final route of the parade had not yet been decided.
The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam. It has been a tinderbox for violence in the past.
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in confrontations with police in Jerusalem overnight from Saturday to Sunday, when Muslims marked Laylat al-Qadr, or the night of destiny, the holiest period of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
On Friday, more than 200 Palestinians were wounded in clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and elsewhere in Jerusalem. The violence, along with the planned evictions in east Jerusalem, have drawn condemnations from Israel’s Arab allies and expressions of concern from the United States, Europe and the United Nations.
The clashes in east Jerusalem resumed late Sunday night, as Israeli police faced off with protesters again. They shouted at police and pelted them with rocks and bottles while police fired stun grenades and used a water cannon to disperse crowds. Palestinian medics said two protesters were hurt.
The violence has threatened to spread.
Late Sunday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the city of Ashkelon, the Israeli military said. It said one rocket was intercepted, and there were no reports of damage or injuries.
Earlier in the day, Israel carried out an airstrike on a post belonging to Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group in response to another rocket attack.
Gazan protesters affiliated with the Hamas militant group also launched incendiary balloons into southern Israel during the day, setting off dozens of fires that closed roads in the area.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli police clashed with hundreds of Arab students at Israel’s Hebrew University, using stun grenades. Police said protesters threw stones and three officers were wounded, and three people were arrested. Police said 15 people were arrested at another protest in the northern city of Haifa.
Pope Francis said he was following the events in Jerusalem with worry. “I pray that it be a place of encounter and not of clashes, a place of prayer and peace,” Francis told the public gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“I invite all to find shared solutions so that the multireligious and multicultural identity of the Holy City is respected,” Francis said. “Violence only generates violence,” he added.