Meanwhile in Jerusalem there was a tense day because of the controversial ‘march of the flags’, of a decidedly nationalist character.
At least 219 civilians were injured this Sunday, 16 of them by bullets, in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the region of the West Bank city of Nablus. These riots are linked to the so-called Jerusalem Day, when thousands of Israeli ultra-nationalists march through the Arab part of the city.
A correspondent from the Palestinian news agency Wafa noted that fighting in Nablus started at the Hawara checkpoint and in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, before the start of a Fatah demonstration. Israeli security forces responded with live fire, tear gas and sound bombs.
In Beita, four civilians were injured by firearms, two by rubber-coated steel bullets and 27 others had to be treated for asphyxiation by tear gas. The injured have been transferred to Rafidia hospital, according to reports from Europa Press.
Four other civilians were injured by bullets in the Hawara control area, where seven more civilians were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, another five by burns, three by falls and 63 by suffocation.
Clashes were also reported in the West Bank cities of Burqa, Bazaria, Burin, Qusra and Cyrenaica. In it, Israeli troops used tear gas and sound bombs against protesters and homes.
As it happened in the West Bank this Sunday, thousands of people took Jerusalem in the controversial “March of the Flags,” a nationalist initiative by which Israelis commemorate the occupation of the eastern part of the city, which this year has coincided with tensions for weeks. Among the slogans launched in this procession, which recalls the “reunification” of the city, the eastern part of which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1980, were phrases such as “death to the Arabs.” In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called the anti-Arab proclamations a “disgrace”.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned police would have “zero tolerance” for Jewish extremists trying to increase tensions, which have been escalating for weeks. For this reason, the government mobilized about 3,000 agents throughout Jerusalem, who arrested more than 20 people for disorderly conduct.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization that is part of the Red Cross, said about 40 Palestinians were injured in the Old City after clashes. In the 2021 march, police blocked access to the old city and at least 33 Palestinians were injured and another 17 arrested. That day was tense after threats from Hamas, which did not rule out firing missiles in response to a march it described as “provocation.”
The aforementioned Islamist group already did so on May 10, when the same demonstration was suspended at the last minute by the police due to strong tensions in the holy city. In 2021, however, instead of projectiles from the Strip, incendiary balloons sprang out, sparking multiple fires.
Source: La Verdad
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