Why is Jerusalem bracing for violence during Israel’s Flag March?
Al Jazeera
Nationalist Israelis are expected to march through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter today, despite the carnage in Gaza.
Today is the Israeli holiday of Jerusalem Day.
It marks the conclusion of the 1967 war and the start of the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israelis claim as the “reunification” of Jerusalem.
Official ceremonies and memorials are being staged across Israel to mark the day.
Chief among these is the controversial Dance of the Flags, or the Flag March, to use its more modern term.
Participation has swollen over the years, from a few students who accompanied Zionist leader Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook in 1967, to 70,000 predominantly young nationalist Israelis who took part in the event two years ago that was all but defined by its violence.
