The new Israeli government supports a right-wing march through Jerusalem New Israel-Palestine Conflict
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The new Israeli government has approved a controversial march through the Old City occupied in East Jerusalem by far-right nationalists and pro-settler groups, a step that threatens to wipe out tensions with Palestinians after Benjamin Netanyahu took power after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took power.
Numerous right-wing Israeli groups will take part in the so-called “Flag March” through the walled Damascus Gate of the Old City and its Muslim neighborhood on Tuesday, receiving warnings from Hamas – the group that rules the besieged Gaza Strip – if continued hostilities continue.
In East Jerusalem it is due to the forced displacement of Palestinian families by Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah to the forced displacement planned by Israel.
There is also a fragile ceasefire on the besieged Gaza Strip following an 11-day military bombing of Israel, killing 253 people, including 66 children. At least 13 Israelis were killed when Palestinian armed groups fired rockets at Gaza as violence escalated.
Palestinian factions have called for a “day of rage” against the march. Last month, Israeli repression of protesters in the company of the Al-Aqsa mosque wounded hundreds of Palestinians.
“This is a provocation of our people and an attack on our Jerusalem and our holy sites,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said of the march.
After meeting with the Israeli police chief and other security officials, the newly sworn Interior Minister Omer Barlev approved the march and said the police are well prepared, according to documents released by the Israeli media.
“[Great] efforts are being made to preserve the delicate fabric of life and public safety, ”Barlev said.
It was unclear whether participants would be allowed to enter the Muslim neighborhood of the Old City on a route previously banned by Israeli police.
An original march on May 10 was targeted at the last minute, as tensions in Jerusalem escalated.
If Hamas moves forward, it has warned of renewed enemies, and Israeli media have reported that the army has made preparations for a possible escalation.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem has banned its staff and their families from entering the Old City on Tuesday “due to the Jerusalem Flag March and demonstrations against the potential.”
The march poses an immediate challenge to Bennett’s government, with a 60-59 vote in parliament approved Sunday.
Changing the route or canceling the march could accuse the Israeli government of vetoing Netanyahu, now in opposition, and its right-wing allies for vetoing the events in Hamas in Jerusalem.
Suggesting that an adjustment to the route could be stored, Deputy Interior Minister Yoav Segalovitz said past governments had stopped visiting nationalists in Muslim areas during times of tension.
“The main thing is to look carefully at what needs to be done at the moment,” he told Israeli radio station Kan.
The formation of alliances made up of Bennett’s right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Arab parties, which has nothing in common but the desire to dismantle Netanyahu, put an end to efforts to build coalitions after the March 23 elections in Israel’s fourth year.
With 49-year-old Bennett filling office for the first time in 49 minutes and a few minutes later, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to oust his government.
“It will happen sooner than you think,” Netanyahu, 71, who held the record for 12 consecutive years, said in a public statement to lawmakers in his right-wing Likud party.
With any potential disagreement among its members as a potential threat to stability, the new Israeli government hopes to focus on home reforms and the economy and avoid issues like Palestinian politics.
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