Israel on high alert ahead of Sunday’s Jerusalem march
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took a final decision that the flag march in Jerusalem’s Old City will take place as decided beforehand, with police at maximum alert across the country.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided today that the traditional nationalist flag march marking the 1967 reunification of Jerusalem will take place on Sunday according to the route decided upon earlier this week. Bennett made his decision following consultations this morning with Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev and Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai.
Bar Lev and Shabtai briefed Bennett on the security preparations ahead of the controversial march, which had instigated in past years clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and local Palestinians; clashes between Israeli security forces and Jewish far-right militants; and also clashes in other mixed Jewish-Arab cities. Last year, Hamas fired rockets at Israel shortly after the procession started, instigating an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip.
