Hamas warned late Sunday that it could still respond to the Flag March through Jerusalem’s Old City, saying it would do so “just in time.”
Last year, the ruling Gaza terrorist group fired rockets at Jerusalem during a contested annual parade, sparking an 11-day conflict with Israel.
Hamas spokesman Mohammad Hamada told the Al Jazeera network that although Hamas did not react to the campaign this year, a violent response is still possible.
“The resistance will decide how and when to react in accordance with the information it has and at the right time,” he said.
Some 70,000 Jewish nationalists marched through and around Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday afternoon to mark Jerusalem Day, some chanting racist slogans and clashing with Palestinians and police.
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“We condemn incitement to violence and racism in all its forms,” said a spokesman for the US State Department in response to the march and chanting. “We call on all countries to work for calm, restraint and refrain from actions and rhetoric that escalate tensions, including in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Before the march, more than 2,600 Israeli Jews gained access to the Temple Mount, a record number. The holy place – the holiest sanctuary of Judaism and the third holiest of Islam – is a hotly debated point of ignition between Jews and Muslims. Hundreds had arrived early in the morning to wait for the opportunity to tour the sanctuary. Among them was far-right MP Itamar Ben Gwir.
Prior to the arrival of Jewish visitors, dozens of Palestinians barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and threw stones at security forces outside.
Jewish religious nationalists waving the Israeli flag on the Temple Mount, May 29, 2022 (Screenshot)
According to police, 18 people were arrested on suspicion of riots and attacks on officials and civilians during a visit to the Temple Mount.
In clear violation of the so-called status quo, several Jewish visitors who visited the mountain raised Israeli flags. Earlier, the terrorist group Hamas signaled that waving the Israeli flag at the holy site, which includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque, could provoke a violent reaction.
The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, is the holiest site for Jews and the site of the third holiest shrine in Islam.
It is the emotional epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and tensions there have fueled the 11-day war in Gaza last May, sparked by open conflict when Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem during the Flag March.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said it was crucial to march in the face of threats from Palestinian terrorist groups. Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah has also threatened.
“The decision to follow the plan this year was correct and untenable,” Burlev said. “Even if terrorist organizations try to challenge us, it is clear that passing on their threats would lead to much more serious situations, with serious damage to our deterrence capabilities and our sovereignty.
“With the exception of a few isolated incidents, the event in Jerusalem went according to plan,” Barlev said.
Thousands of Jews waving Israeli flags as they celebrate Jerusalem Day at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 29, 2022 (Nati Shohat / Flash90)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tried to emphasize the positive message of the day and promised that Israel would never divide Jerusalem again.
“We swear again today that we will never give up the unity of Jerusalem and we will never give up the unity of Israel,” Bennett said, speaking at the main event on Jerusalem Day.
Although a national holiday, Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel’s conquest of the Old City and East Jerusalem by Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, is celebrated today mainly by right-wing religious Jews.
Opposition party Likud, meanwhile, has accused Bennett and the government of trying to blame Hamas for the crackdown, which they say is due to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He brags about the deterrence achieved by the Netanyahu government against Hamas, in which he was not involved. “Netanyahu has ordered the ISIS to strike Hamas harder than it has ever been hit before,” Likud said in a statement, citing the ISIS’s response to the rocket fire.
The war came in the last days of the Netanyahu administration, before a coalition government led by Bennett and Foreign Minister Jair Lapid took power.
Fire and smoke rise over Gaza buildings as Israeli warplanes strike, early May 17, 2021 (Anas BABA / AFP)
“After being hit so hard, he did not dare to fire a single rocket this year,” Likud said in a statement.
There have been several cases of rocket fire against Israel from Gaza in the past year.
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