'Flag march' Aggressive chants and violence fill streets of Jerusalem

Thousands of Israelis yesterday joined a march through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem, where large groups chanted slogans including "Gaza is ours", "death to the Arabs" and "may their villages burn".

- Emma Graham-Harrison Quique Kierszenbaum

The annual march, funded and promoted by city government, celebrates Israel's capture and occupation of the eastern half of Jerusalem and its holy sites in the war of 1967. The Israeli takeover is not recognised internationally.

The authorities advertise the "flag march" as a festive procession that is part of a broader programme of events celebrating the "liberation" of the city.

The march has been marred by racism and attacks on Palestinians for years and is preceded by a campaign of violence in the old city that in effect shuts down Palestinian majority areas, particularly the Muslim quarter.

From before midday yesterday, small groups of young Israeli men attacked and harassed shopkeepers and passersby inside the city, spitting at women in hijabs, stealing from cafes, ransacking a bookshop and entering at least one home by force.

"Shut now, or I can't protect you," a policeman told the cafe owner Raymond Himo when he protested about teenagers in religious Zionist dress stealing drinks.

Shops had mostly closed by 1pm, hours earlier than in previous years, with many residents barricaded in their homes.