Occupied Jerusalem -

The Israeli decision - to hold a "flags march" in the heart of Old Jerusalem on Sunday, repeats, and the resistance factions in Gaza announce their readiness to respond if the march passes through Bab al-Amud and the Islamic Quarter towards the Al-Buraq Wall;

In addition to the popular mobilization in the Palestinian interior - to the fore is the battle for sovereignty over Jerusalem, which Israel did not succeed in resolving, amid fears of the Israeli establishment of losing what it calls sovereignty as "unified Jerusalem."

The path of the "Flags March" is fraught with tensions even within Israeli society and raises the escalation, as opponents of the path see the march through the Mughrabi Gate, "Al-Wad Street" and the Islamic Quarter in Old Jerusalem as a provocation, while supporters see it as an expression of what they describe as "Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem", which is The battle for sovereignty has been going on for 55 years, ever since the Israelis occupied the eastern side of Jerusalem.

Accordingly, the decision of the Israeli government headed by Naftali Bennett, and the announcement by the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Omer Bar-Lev, to hold the “flags march” according to its track and not to make any amendments despite the threats of the Palestinian factions and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), as a result of arguments and bidding between the camps of the traditional right and the fascist right And as a result of a strategic review of the Israeli government and security services, with regard to everything related to sovereignty over Jerusalem and the link between the Gaza front and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel aims to adhere to the "Flags' March" and its path to appear as if it possesses sovereignty and controls matters in East Jerusalem, as well as not to allow the consolidation and stabilization of the equation imposed by the Palestinian resistance movement in the gift of dignity last May, linking Gaza and Jerusalem, the Palestinian interior and the West Bank through confrontation A comprehensive and broad popular movement that includes all Palestinians, as Israel does not rule out a scenario for a regional escalation because of Jerusalem.


Will the "Flags March" trigger a regional escalation?

The "Flags' March" has once again unified all the resistance factions in the Palestinian arena in an exceptional way.

From Hamas to the Palestinian National Liberation Organization, Fatah, and with their unanimous agreement that organizing the march will lead to an explosion in the situation, and hold Israel fully responsible for the repercussions and development of events on the ground.

With the unification of all the Palestinians and the warnings of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah that any Israeli prejudice to Al-Aqsa would cause an “explosion in the region”, Israeli officials fear a repetition of the scenario of the events of Heba al-Karama in May last year, especially since The Palestinian factions did not rule out responding with rockets from Gaza in case the settlers escalate in Jerusalem.

The only time that elements of the Israeli right were prevented from passing through the Damascus Gate was last year, when the then Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered at the last minute to change the course of the march due to fear of a security escalation.

Even this time, the path of the "flags march" was changed and did not pass through Bab al-Amud and the Islamic Quarter, the Palestinian factions fired rocket-propelled grenades that led to the outbreak of the "Sword of Jerusalem" battle, or "guardian of the fences", according to the Israeli name.

What is the march of flags and what is their path?

Right-wing activists from the "national-religious" movement and the alliance of "religious Zionism" celebrate, dancing and waving provocatively the Israeli flags, the so-called "Quds Day", which commemorates Israel's occupation of the eastern part of the city and Old Jerusalem during the "Six-Day War" in 1967.

This year, the organizers of the march decided to limit the number of participants in the crossing of Old Jerusalem to reach the Al-Buraq Wall to 16,000.

Half of the group will walk through Bab al-Amoud to al-Wad Road, while the other half will pass through Bab al-Khalil, where they will most likely make a provocative tour around the Islamic Quarter without entering, in anticipation of any emergency and for fear of confrontations erupting and confronting the elements of the right by the Jerusalemite youths inside Islamic Quarter.

The police command will hold a session to assess the situation, during which it will take a decision regarding the request of the extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir to storm Al-Aqsa, so that the courtyards of the Al-Haram Al-Sharif will serve as the last stop for the flags’ march, according to Ben Gvir’s request, according to what the official Israeli radio station “Kan” reported.

Extremist MK Itamar Ben Gvir (left) demanded that the Temple Mount squares be the last stop for the flags' march (Al-Jazeera)

high alert

The Inspector General of the Israeli Police, Yaakov Shabtai, issued orders to raise the state of alert in the ranks of the police forces in occupied Jerusalem and the coastal cities inside the Palestinian interior, in anticipation of the outbreak of confrontations and the explosion of security conditions as a result of the "flags march."

The occupation police pushed thousands of its members and members of the "Border Guard" forces to secure the march by creating a buffer zone between the settlers participating in the march and the surroundings of its Palestinian path, including Jerusalemite youths who might try to repel settlers' attempts to storm Old Jerusalem, and the intense Palestinian presence in the Bab al-Amoud area and squares Al-Aqsa Mosque.

And the Israeli army deployed more "Iron Dome" batteries throughout the country, especially in the southern regions, in anticipation of the launching of rocket-propelled grenades from the besieged Gaza Strip, against the background of the "flags march."

The potential for escalation due to the "Flags March"

The Israeli police are preparing for the possibility of carrying out an operation targeting the "Flags March" in Jerusalem, or anywhere else in the country, including Israeli cities and throughout the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military intelligence and the Shin Bet security service are participating in these preparations.

Similar to the Israeli army, the occupation police made precautionary arrests in Jerusalem of 100 Jerusalemites to thwart any attempt to carry out what it describes as “terrorist” or provocative acts, and attacks that may be expected on the flags’ march.

The police gave the Israeli security field commanders the responsibility to make decisions about preventing the raising of the Palestinian flag in the face of the march of Israeli flags, if they considered this to constitute “incitement or an invitation to violence,” despite the absence of an Israeli law criminalizing the raising of the Palestinian flag.


Why do the Israeli security services recommend not to change the course of the "Flags March"?

The Israeli security services recommended not changing the path of the "flags march", considering that the Israeli government's change of course at the last minute would be interpreted as "Israeli weakness."

It was unanimously agreed that maintaining the path of the march aims at what it describes as "preserving Israeli sovereignty" in the unified city of Jerusalem, in the words of the leaders of the security services.

This comes at a time when the efforts of the Palestinian factions in Gaza are continuing to "create a single Palestinian front against the occupation that includes Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and the 48 areas," according to the Israeli security services.

Does Israel aim from the various messages of calm with the resistance in Gaza?

According to a report by the Israeli Channel 13, Bennett's government sent messages to Hamas through other parties, hoping to prevent an escalation of tensions during the "flags march" of Israeli right-wing activists through the streets of Old Jerusalem.

The report stated that Israel is serious in its message to Hamas that the path of the march is the same, as it has been for years, and should not be considered a reason for war.

It also warned that if Hamas launches rockets or allows other factions to do so, Israel will be ready to respond to the Gaza Strip.

The leaders of the Israeli security services estimated that “the movement will not undertake a large-scale escalation, and is trying to preserve the non-transfer of escalation to the Gaza Strip,” despite their assertion that “the decision to escalate remains with the commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and not with the head of the movement in the Gaza Strip.” Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

The US President's visit to the region and the concerns of his statements

Prior to the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden to the country, US administration officials went to their counterparts in the Israeli government, and asked them to reconsider the path of the "flags march."

The Ynet website report stated that officials in the Biden administration were "concerned about an escalation that might result from the flags march, and stated that US officials "goed to officials in the Israeli government and asked them to reconsider the course," which the Israeli security services reject.

It is also not excluded among Israeli circles that Biden, if he visits Israel and Ramallah, would announce facilities and privileges for the Palestinian Authority, including restoring American aid to the Authority, removing the PLO from the terrorism list, reopening its offices in Washington, and reopening the American consulate in East Jerusalem, which are losses. Israel's strategy in the conflict with the Palestinians.