An updated and estimated 70,000 flag-waving Israelis marched to the Western Wall on Jerusalem Day through the Old City, and at its peak, 20,000 people were at the Kotel at the same time.
A message from @FleurHassanN, Deputy Mayor of #Jerusalem, on #YomYerushalayim. Happy #Jerusalem Day! pic.twitter.com/gzcV5HmZWP
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) May 29, 2022
The joyous celebration of Jerusalem Day marked 55 years since the liberation of the eastern side of the capital from its Jordanian occupiers during the 1967 Six Day War.
On this day in 1967, the soldiers of the IDF Paratroopers Brigade heroically liberated the Old City of Jerusalem and reunified Israel’s capital.
Today on Jerusalem Day, we honor the soldiers who fought for Jerusalem’s liberation—and the soldiers who continue to protect it today. pic.twitter.com/PK9vWoacod
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 29, 2022
The annual Flag March stepped off on Sunday afternoon, following visits to the Temple Mount by some 2,600 Israelis during the morning hours.
Several were arrested after they violated visitation rules by raising Israeli flags on the site, considered one of the holiest in the Jewish faith.
Arab worshipers have no such restrictions and freely wave the flags of the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization in the compound.
In fact, Arabs held Hamas flags inside the Al Aqsa Mosque during the event. No one stopped them.
“Peaceful” Palestinians hold the flag of terrorist organization Hamas inside the Al Aqsa mosque.
They hate Israel more than they respect their own holy mosque. #JerusalemDay pic.twitter.com/VYkheJvzTV
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) May 29, 2022
Otzma Yehudi party leader and Knesset Member Itamar Ben Gvir was among those who visited the Temple Mount, albeit heavily guarded and vilified by screaming, raging Arabs.
Meanwhile Palestinians are firing off fireworks from inside the Al Aqsa mosque. Some don’t make it and land inside pic.twitter.com/aNR58FaIXc
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) May 29, 2022
Arab rioters hurled chairs, rocks and live fireworks at the Israeli security forces in the Temple Mount compound, and at Jewish worshipers on the Mughrabi Bridge waiting to ascend.
Some of the live fireworks shot at Israeli forces by Arabs from inside the Al Aqsa Mosque fell short, landing instead within the mosque itself.
At least 18 Arabs were arrested for rioting.
Arab-Jewish Clashes at Damascus Gate
While Arab violence was mostly not present at Damascus gate due to the strong police presence, there were some individual incidents of Arabs clashing with Jewish celebrants. The Arabs also hurled rocks and bottles at police officers and other Israeli security forces.
Three Jewish Israelis were injured in the clashes. All were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom emergency medical response personnel.
Three suspects were arrested in the melee.
One member of a security detail escorting Likud MK Miri Regev was wounded by a stone thrown at his head near the Damascus Gate. After receiving treatment at the scene, the guard was evacuated to a hospital for further care.
Inside the Old City, an Arab woman attempted to attack a Jewish youth, who fired pepper spray at her to fend her off. The editor-in-chief of the leftist 972mag, Edo Konrad, tweeted a video clip of the event, but seemed to have missed the reason the youth sprayed the woman.
“Israeli extremist youth pepper spray an elderly Palestinian woman,” Konrad wrote. “Here is your Jerusalem Day. Here is your racial supremacism at work.”
Israeli extremist youth pepper spray an elderly Palestinian woman. Here is your Jerusalem Day. Here is your racial supremacism at work. https://t.co/CmXOyjcfh7
— Edo Konrad (@edokonrad) May 29, 2022
The clip posted by Konrad was a retweet from Chaim Goldberg, who wrote in Hebrew, “Violent clashes are taking place at the Damascus Gate between Arabs and Jews, a lot of gas in the air here.” Goldberg refrained from laying the blame in either direction.
Arabs also flew a small drone carrying a Palestinian Authority flag over the Old City as Jewish marched with Israeli flags.
Israel Police shot down the drone.
‘Zero Tolerance for Violence’
By nightfall, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had directed the security forces, “especially the Israel Police,” to show zero tolerance for violence or provocations by extremist elements – among them La Familia – in Jerusalem.
“The overwhelming majority of participants have come to celebrate but unfortunately there is a minority that has come to set the area ablaze, take advantage of the government’s strong position against Hamas threats and trying to use force in order to ignite a conflict,” Bennett said.
“Therefore, all incidents of violence will be dealt with severely, including prosecution.”
Except that, that alleged Jewish-instigated violence was practically non-existent, if it happened at all.
