Extremist settlers attack Palestinians in East Jerusalem

Occupied Jerusalem (Union, agencies)

Yesterday, extremist Israeli settlers organized provocative marches in the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, which included attacks on Palestinians before the Israeli flag march reached Damascus Gate, which is one of the most famous gates of the Old City.
Eyewitnesses said that settlers organized provocative gatherings in the Islamic Quarter of the Old City.
Among the participants in these gatherings is Communications Minister from the Likud Party, Miri Regev.
Witnesses also indicated that settlers assaulted Palestinians by beating them in the Old City during provocative marches.
According to Palestinian media, “settlers stormed Palestinian stores several times and rioted, chanting anti-Palestinian slogans and songs of hatred and revenge.”
Earlier, the Israeli police began emptying the Damascus Gate of Palestinians in preparation for the arrival of the flag parade that coincides with the anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem in June 1967.
The police announced the deployment of 3,000 of its members in East Jerusalem on the occasion of the march in which Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir announced his participation.
In this context, yesterday, settlers attacked journalists in the “Bab al-Amoud” area, before the start of the “Flag March.”
Israeli media said: The police removed the journalists who were covering the “Flags March” in Jerusalem, after they were attacked by right-wing settlers.
She stressed that “the Israeli police had difficulty controlling the settlers, and asked the Palestinians to close shops.”
Yesterday, hundreds of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque from the “Maghariba Gate” direction, under the protection of the Israeli police.
The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said, in a press statement, that “950 extremists stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday, distributed into groups,” adding that the settlers raised the Israeli flag at “Bab al-Qattaneen” in the courtyards of the mosque.
Thousands of settlers stormed the Buraq Wall square at a time when the Israeli police strengthened their military measures in the city to provide protection for the settlers.
The head of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, said that the “flag march” would inflame the situation in the city.
Yesterday, the Palestinian News and Information Agency, Wafa, quoted Fattouh as saying, “The Israeli government seeks in every way to ignite the region and create a state of instability and violence, for which the countries of the region and the region will pay the price.”
He pointed out that “this government is practicing cleansing in Jerusalem, by encircling it, isolating its neighborhoods, and restricting its people. It also uses and invents occasions in order to assert and impose its sovereignty over it, violating all international and UN resolutions.”