Far-right security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa compound, while tens of thousands of Israelis paraded through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City on Jerusalem Day, which saw attacks on Palestinian shops and “Death to Arabs” chants.
Members of the CJNV delegation to Palestine didn’t just come to observe and document. They engaged in direct actions, participating in shutting down highways and attending protests.
The Flag March represents the Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the imposition of Israeli colonial dominance over Jerusalem. It is part of the Zionist forever war on Jerusalem.
The Flag March continued the Zionist war on Jerusalem, while the assault on Palestinian resistance renewed itself following a deadly Israeli raid on Balata refugee camp, leaving 3 Palestinians dead.
The annual settler Flag March is a provocation meant to erase the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and to assert Israeli dominance. But it is also a sign of Israeli insecurity and weakness.
Palestinians in Gaza had a message for Israel following the settler Flag March in Jerusalem: “You raised your flag in Sinai, and you left. You raised your flag in the Gaza settlements, and you left. Soon you will leave our lands too.”
On June 1, the Israeli Knesset passed a preliminary reading of a bill pushed by Likud Party MK member, Eli Cohen, to ban the display of “enemy flags” across Israeli state-funded institutions. Although the bill refers to “enemy flags,” the only flag that is explicitly noted is the Palestinian one. The bill must pass three additional Knesset votes before it becomes law. For Palestinians, the bill is not merely an attack on their flag, but is symbolic of a continued and systemic assault on symbols which express Palestinian identity.
‘Haaretz’ runs two articles attacking Israeli Zionism as a hateful dead-end, urging the world to take action. The authors’ scathing words would never make it into an American newspaper. Contemporary Zionism is a “Jewish mutation,” Amira Hass writes in despair. While B. Michael writes that Zionism has created a “small, arrogant, violent, wicked nation” of “Jew-oids” who have taken the “wicked parts of Judaism and turned it into the essence.”
An estimated 70,000 Israeli settlers participated in the annual flag march in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, with some crowds chanting “Death to Arabs.” Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as Israeli forces suppressed protests that erupted in response to the march. Follow here for news throughout the day.
Palestinian injuries in Gaza have not healed yet from last year’s Israeli assault and there is now fear of a coming war. In Gaza, there is no post-traumatic stress disorder because war is never over.