New Israeli gov’t approves right-wing march through Jerusalem

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh describes the planned march as ‘a provocation of our people’.

Israel’s new government has approved a controversial march by far-right nationalists and pro-settler groups through occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, a step that risks inflaming tensions with Palestinians hours after Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Several right-wing Israeli groups are expected to participate in a so-called “March of the Flags” through the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate and into its Muslim quarter on Tuesday, drawing warnings from Hamas – the group that governs the besieged Gaza Strip – of renewed hostilities should it proceed. The move comes as tensions remain high in East Jerusalem over Israel’s planned forced displacement of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah.