Israeli PM defends annual march marked by violence, anti-Palestinian racism
The Hindu
The march saw Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans, including “Death to Arabs," and attack Palestinians and journalists.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday defended the decision to hold an annual march that celebrates Israel's takeover of east Jerusalem and was marked by violence and anti-Palestinian racism.
Authorities called up thousands of police, forcibly cleared out Palestinians and risked another war with the Islamic militant group Hamas to ensure that tens of thousands of mostly right-wing Israelis could parade through a dense Palestinian neighborhood and hundreds could visit a bitterly contested holy site.
Israel had changed the route at the last minute during last year's march, at a time of soaring tensions over violence at the holy site and attempts by settlers to remove dozens of Palestinian families from their homes in east Jerusalem.
Hamas still fired rockets, and an 11-day Gaza war ensued.
Israel avoided that scenario this year and allowed the parade to take its traditional route through the heart of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.
But the march saw Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans, including “Death to Arabs," and attack Palestinians and journalists. Fights broke out along the route, as police mainly intervened to protect Jews and forcibly disperse Palestinians.
The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said 62 Palestinians were wounded, including 23 who needed hospitalization. Israeli police said they arrested over 60 suspects and that five officers were wounded. The vast majority of those arrested appear to have been Palestinians, though police refused to provide a breakdown.