Thousands of Israelis took part in the Jerusalem Flag March on Thursday, with the highly controversial annual event again featuring racist chants and scuffles with Palestinian residents as the largely teenage, religious nationalist participants made their way through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

But despite several dozen instances of violence and harassment by Jewish participants, and pre-march threats by Gaza terror groups, the rally managed to conclude without a major incident. Two years ago, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem to coincide with the march, leading to an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza.

The annual parade to the Western Wall is meant to mark Israel’s reunification of East and West Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War, but has gained notoriety over the years as it is often marred by hate speech and violence by far-right Jewish participants toward Palestinians and their property.

The particularly charged aspect of the Flag March is its route through the Damascus Gate and Muslim Quarter, which are overwhelmingly used by Palestinians. Critics say the rally is designed to provoke Palestinians, who are forced by the Israel Police to shutter their shops to allow for the demonstration.

As it did in the past two years, the Biden administration ahead of Thursday urged Israel to reroute the march away from the Muslim Quarter. It was an uphill battle though, given that the more moderate previous government had bucked the request last year, and Netanyahu ultimately followed suit.

Different groups of Flag March participants clashed and beat Palestinian locals and harassed journalists. They also sang racist chants such as “Death to Arabs,” “May your village burn” and “An Arab is a son of a b**ch,” as they danced near the Damascus Gate both before and during the rally on Thursday afternoon.

Among the marchers were over a dozen coalition members, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — a longtime participant in the rally. Thursday was the first time he did so as a cabinet minister, offering an additional stamp of legitimacy to the lightning rod event. Some 3,000 officers of the police, which Ben Gvir oversees, were deployed in and around the Old City to secure the march.

Police said they arrested 10 people even before the formal start of the rally at 4 p.m., including several left-wing activists who temporarily blocked a West Bank highway outside of Jerusalem while attempting to prevent settlers from attending the march. Several other people were detained for provoking Palestinians, police said.

Most of the participants were religious teens, many of whom were bused in from seminaries. Separate routes were designated for men and women to avoid mixed dancing.

#DamascusGate pic.twitter.com/Ao4CwAiIrz

— Tom Bateman (@tombateman) May 18, 2023

Not all Flag March participants approve of the rally’s route though, and some preferred to avoid the part that goes through the Muslim Quarter, instead taking an alternate path approved by police........

© The Times of Israel