Tensions rise in Occupied Territories over far-right Israeli ‘flag march’ provocations

Israelis wave national flags in front of Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City to mark Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo)
Short Url
Updated 17 May 2023
Follow

Tensions rise in Occupied Territories over far-right Israeli ‘flag march’ provocations

  • The Palestinian presidency said the Israeli government’s decision not to reroute the controversial march away from Jerusalem’s Old City was a deliberate provocation
  • Police ramped up security in East Jerusalem and the Old City, with military checkpoints set up along main roads and 3,000 personnel deployed to secure the route of the march

RAMALLAH: On the eve of the Jerusalem “flag day” march, tensions were running high all over Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. They threatened to disrupt the ceasefire agreement between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel, amid fears of violent clashes in Jerusalem.

Thursday afternoon’s march is an annual Israeli, far-right parade that celebrates the capture in 1967 of East Jerusalem and its subsequent occupation, which the Israeli government refers to as the “reunification” of Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, Israeli police ramped up security in East Jerusalem and the Old City, with military checkpoints set up along main roads and 3,000 personnel deployed to secure the route of the march.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would not alter the route of the controversial march and so it will pass through the Damascus Gate and the Old City.

Israeli sources said seven ministers and members of the Knesset belonging to the ruling coalition would join the march, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“Tomorrow, with God’s help, we will celebrate Jerusalem Day in our eternal capital,” Ben-Gvir said. “We have deployed our guards to secure the march, and tomorrow Jerusalem will be covered in blue and white.”

Jewish “Temple” organizations and settler groups reportedly sought to recruit more than 5,000 settlers to storm the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque ahead of the provocative march.

The Palestinian presidency said the decision not to reroute the march away from Jerusalem’s Old City was a deliberate provocation.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the presidency, said the calls from extremists to storm Al-Aqsa would ignite the region, with dire consequences. He said the Israeli government was fully responsible for the escalation in tensions that could lead to an explosion of violence.

The government’s actions confirms its acquiescence to the demands of extremists, he added. He called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to turn its words into actions by clearly and frankly condemning such Israeli provocations.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Thursday’s march offers conclusive evidence to help those in Israel and within the international community understand that Jerusalem is occupied, not unified, and remains an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Meanwhile, there were calls for Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and inside Israel to raise the Palestinian flag at all possible locations, and display it online, in response to Israel’s “flag day” provocations.

Khaled Al-Kurdi, an activist in Jerusalem’s Old City, told Arab News the situation there is tense and Israeli police were forcing about 1,500 shops in the Old City and at Damascus Gate to close.

“The situation is agitated as all of the Israeli extreme right will be present in the Old City to impose a fait accompli that they control East Jerusalem,” he said.

About 350,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem. Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for Hamas, described the march as inciteful and said it would force Hamas to respond to the “Israeli attempt to change and enforce a Jewish identity on the city of Jerusalem … which includes Muslim and Christian holy sites.”

Kamal Al-Khatib, the deputy head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, called for the march to be confronted and for Al-Aqsa Mosque to be defended from Judaization efforts by settlers.

“Tomorrow, Al-Aqsa will be exposed to new provocations,” he said.

Shawky Allam, a senior cleric from Egypt, warned that the march could inflame tensions and create an atmosphere of confrontation.

Between 100,000 and 200,000 young Orthodox Jewish men are expected to take part in the march. The Israeli army has strengthened its Iron Dome defense system over fears of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in response to the march.

The White House urged Israelis and Palestinians to remain calm and restrained and avoid any actions or rhetoric surrounding the march that could cause tensions to rise.


Darfur civilians ‘face mass atrocities and ethnic violence’

Updated 04 July 2025
Follow

Darfur civilians ‘face mass atrocities and ethnic violence’

  • Medical charity warns of new threat from escalation in fighting in Sudan civil war

KHARTOUM: Civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan face mass atrocities and ethnic violence in the civil war between the regular army and its paramilitary rivals, the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres warned on Thursday.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have sought to consolidate their power in Darfur since losing control of the capital Khartoum in March. Their predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, was accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago.

The paramilitaries have intensified attacks on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state which they have besieged since May 2024 in an effort to push the army out of its final stronghold in the region.
“People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting ... but also actively targeted by the Rapid Support Forces and their allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity,” said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, Medecins Sans Frontieres’ head of emergencies. There were “threats of a full-blown assault,” on El-Fasher, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people largely cut off from food and water supplies and deprived of access to medical care, he said.


Egypt on alert as giant dam in Ethiopia completed

Updated 04 July 2025
Follow

Egypt on alert as giant dam in Ethiopia completed

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia moved on Thursday to reassure Egypt about its water supply after completing work on a controversial giant $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile.

“To our neighbors downstream, our message is clear: the dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

“The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia. We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water. Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is 1.8 km wide and 145 meters high, and is Africa's largest hydroelectric project. It can hold 74 billion cubic meters of water and generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power — more than double Ethiopia’s current output. It will begin full operations in September.

Egypt already suffers from severe water scarcity and sees the dam as an existential threat because the country relies on the Nile for 97 percent of its water. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Sudan’s leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan met last week and “stressed their rejection of any unilateral measures in the Blue Nile basin.” They were committed to safeguarding water security in the region, Sisi’s spokesman said.


Explosive drone intercepted near Irbil airport in northern Iraq, security statement says

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Explosive drone intercepted near Irbil airport in northern Iraq, security statement says

  • The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally,” the Irbil airport authority said

IRBIL, Iraq: An explosive drone was shot down near Irbil airport in northern Iraq on Thursday, the Iraqi Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement.

There were no casualties reported, according to two security sources.

The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally and the airport was not affected by any damage,” the Irbil airport authority said in a statement.

The incident only caused a temporary delay in the landing of one aircraft, the statement added.


Jordanian and Vatican officials discuss promotion of Petra as destination for Christian pilgrims

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Jordanian and Vatican officials discuss promotion of Petra as destination for Christian pilgrims

  • They say there is a strategic opportunity to integrate the UNESCO World Heritage Site into routes for Christian travelers
  • Head of tourism authority says highlighting Petra’s significance to Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on global religious tourism map

LONDON: Officials from Jordan and the Vatican met on Thursday to discuss ways in which they can cooperate to advance religious tourism, including the promotion of the ancient city of Petra as a destination for Christian pilgrims.

Fares Braizat, who chairs the board of commissioners of the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority, said that highlighting the significance of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on the global religious tourism map.

The country has a number of important Christian sites, the most significant of which is the location on the eastern bank of the Jordan River where Jesus is said to have been baptized by John the Baptist. Several popes have visited it, including Francis and John Paul II.

Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, the Vatican’s ambassador to Jordan, confirmed the interest in collaborating with Jordanian authorities, and praised the nation’s stability and its rich historical and religious heritage.

Both officials acknowledged the strategic opportunity that exists to integrate Petra into pilgrimage routes for Christian travelers, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The Petra tourism authority recently lit up the Colosseum in Rome with the signature colors of the historic Jordanian site to celebrate a twinning agreement as part of a marketing strategy to attract European visitors, and to raise Petra’s profile globally as a premier cultural and spiritual tourism destination.

The Vatican itself is also a major tourism destination, for Christian pilgrims in particular. In 2025 it is expected to welcome between 30 and 35 million visitors during its latest Jubilee Year, a significant ecclesiastical event that takes place every 25 years.


Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns

  • Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again raises alarm over increasingly dire humanitarian crisis as restrictions on aid mount and civilians run out of safe places to shelter
  • He expresses grave concern over series of attacks in recent days that hit locations in which Palestinians were seeking shelter or trying to obtain food

NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said he was “appalled” by the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, condemned recent deadly strikes against displaced people, and warned that the enclave is on the brink of total collapse as fuel supplies run out.

He expressed grave concern over a series of attacks in recent days that hit locations in which Palestinians sought shelter or were trying to access food.

Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, read a statement that said: “Multiple attacks (have) killed and injured scores of Palestinians. The secretary-general strongly condemns the loss of civilian life.”

Civilians in Gaza are running out of safe areas in which to shelter as Israeli evacuation orders continue to expand, Dujarric added as he warned of a dire humanitarian crisis amid mounting restrictions on the delivery of aid and rising casualties among relief workers.

Israeli authorities issued a new displacement order on Thursday targeting parts of Gaza City, citing as a reason rocket fire from Palestinian groups. It affected an estimated 40,000 people, including those living in a displacement site, a medical facility, and a neighborhood previously spared evacuation orders since a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended in March.

“As of earlier today, about 900 families are estimated to have fled,” Dujarric said, adding that approximately 78 percent of the Gaza Strip has now been affected by the cumulative effects of more than 50 such orders. When combined with the effects on areas designated as Israeli militarized zones, the figure rises to 85 percent, leaving just 15 percent of the territory available for civilians to live.

“Those areas are, of course, overcrowded,” Dujarric said. “They also severely lack basic services or proper infrastructure.”

He described the remaining habitable zones as fragmented and unsafe, and compared the humanitarian conditions there to having more than 2 million crammed into Manhattan but

“instead of buildings, the area is strewn with the rubble of demolished and burnt-out structures without any infrastructure or basic support.”

The UN Population Fund has reported that an estimated 700,000 women and girls in Gaza are experiencing “a nightmare” situation as a result of lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, water and privacy. It said it has nearly 170 truckloads of supplies ready for delivery but they remain blocked from entering Gaza.

Meanwhile, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that nine more aid workers from five organizations have died in Gaza since last Thursday, bringing the death toll among aid personnel to 107 in 2025, and 479 since the war began in October 2023; 326 members of UN staff are among the dead.

OCHA also highlighted the significant obstacles humanitarian operations faced in June. Out of nearly 400 attempts to coordinate with Israeli authorities, 44 percent were denied, and 10 percent were initially approved but later obstructed. Only a third of the missions were fully facilitated, while 12 percent were canceled due to logistical or security issues.

Four out of 16 humanitarian coordination efforts were denied on Thursday alone, Dujarric said, hindering efforts to relocate medical supplies and clear debris.

“The space left for civilians to stay is shrinking by the day,” he added.

In his statement, Guterres underscored the fact that international humanitarian law is “unambiguous” in its requirement for civilians to be protected and their basic needs met.

He warned that the continuing blockade on fuel deliveries, now entering an 18th week, threatens to bring remaining humanitarian operations to a halt.

“Without an urgent influx of fuel, incubators will shut down, ambulances will be unable to reach the injured and sick, and water cannot be purified,” he said, adding that the UN and its partners might soon be unable to deliver even the limited amount of aid that remains in Gaza.

Guterres repeated his call for “full, safe and sustained humanitarian access,” and said the UN has a ready, proven plan to deliver aid “safely and at scale” to civilians across the territory.

He also renewed his appeal for an “immediate, permanent ceasefire” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” and stressed that all parties involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international law.