Shouting Slogans "Death to Arabs" and "Jerusalem Is Ours"
Rapid Foreign Minister: "Hate Is Absolutely Unacceptable"
Palestinian Residents' Protest Clashes with Police, 33 Injured
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Tensions are escalating just two days after a new government was formed following the ousting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to a right-wing group's flag march event.
On the 15th (local time), according to the Times of Israel and others, about 5,000 citizens affiliated with right-wing groups marched through the Old City of Jerusalem in East Jerusalem, waving Israeli flags.
During the march, they shouted slogans such as "Death to Arabs" and "Jerusalem is ours" while waving flags.
Members of right-wing parties, including Netanyahu's Likud party and the devout Zionist party, also participated in the event.
The marchers also held placards criticizing Naftali Bennett, the newly appointed prime minister who was once a close aide to the Netanyahu administration but has since turned into an anti-Netanyahu faction and played a decisive role in the formation of the new government, labeling him a "lying prime minister."
Jewish citizens participating in a flag march holding a poster criticizing newly appointed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Photo by AP Yonhap News
Yair Lapid, the foreign minister who led the formation of the new coalition government, strongly condemned the hateful remarks made during the march, stating, "Racism and hatred are absolutely unacceptable," and added, "This is not Judaism. It is a disgrace to our Israel."
Before the event, police, fearing clashes, had confrontations while screening Palestinian residents at Damascus Gate Square, a route through which the march passed.
During this process, the Times of Israel reported that 33 Palestinian residents were injured and transported to hospitals. Additionally, police arrested 17 Palestinian residents at the scene.
The Israeli right-wing flag march was originally scheduled for the 10th of last month, Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the victory in the 1967 Six-Day War and the capture of East Jerusalem, previously Jordanian territory.
For Palestinians and the Arab world, who lost East Jerusalem, this event is a humiliation and provocation.
Last month, Israeli authorities banned the event due to concerns over clashes with Palestinian citizens.
Although the event was canceled, Palestinian backlash arose when Israeli authorities threatened to evict dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem for real estate development by Israeli Jews.
Subsequently, when Israeli authorities harshly suppressed protests by Palestinian residents, casualties occurred, leading to a preemptive rocket attack by the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, which triggered an 11-day armed conflict with Israel.
Due to the armed conflict between the two sides, the event, held about a month later than planned, was approved by former Prime Minister Netanyahu and was not opposed by newly appointed Prime Minister Bennett.
Hamas had previously declared the day of the flag march as a "Day of Rage" and urged Palestinian residents to resist the flag demonstration.
Accordingly, Israeli authorities deployed Iron Dome missile defense units in preparation for Hamas rocket attacks under the pretext of the flag march and stationed large-scale military forces along the Palestinian border.
An explosive-filled balloon sent from Gaza Strip bursts, causing a fire [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
In southern Israel, more than 20 fires broke out as explosive-laden balloons launched from the Gaza Strip exploded.
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