Israeli security cabinet approves far-right parade in E. Jerusalem
Jun 09, 2021
Jerusalem (Israel), June 9: Israel's security cabinet decided on Tuesday to allow an ultra-nationalist march to go through East Jerusalem next week, despite the warning by Palestinian militants.
A statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that the parade will be held next Tuesday "in a format to be agreed upon by the police and the organizers of the march."
The decision came after Israeli far-right groups said they would hold on Thursday a flag-waving parade through the Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter in East Jerusalem.
In response, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which rules the Gaza Strip, warned on Monday that such a move would renew the tensions between Israel and the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The parade, held annually by Israeli nationalist and far-right groups, marks Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East war.
It was originally scheduled on May 10, but was delayed by the violent Israeli-Palestinian clashes that broke out in Jerusalem and led to the firing of rockets toward Israel by Gaza Palestinian militants led by Hamas.
The rocket attacks sparked the 11-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ended with a ceasefire on May 21, during which Israel retaliated by launching daily airstrikes and bombardments on the Gaza Strip, leaving about 254 Palestinians and 12 Israelis killed.
Source: Xinhua
