Thousands of settlers gather in Jerusalem to start the "flag march" and the Palestinian presidency warns of an explosion

Thousands of settlers began gathering in a public park in West Jerusalem in preparation for the start of what is known as the march of Israeli flags, while the presidency warned of an explosion and Hamas blamed the occupation for the attacks on the holy sites.

The "March of the Flags" is expected to start this afternoon in West Jerusalem and then pass through the Damascus Gate area, and will roam the vicinity of the Old City and inside the alleys of the Muslim Quarter, before reaching the Western Wall, which Jews call the Western Wall.

Anadolu Agency reported that among those gathered in Damascus Gate Square was Transport Minister Miri Regev.

Al Jazeera's Jerusalem correspondent said settlers had assaulted Palestinians inside the town and in the Damascus Gate area.

The occupation authorities imposed strict security measures throughout the city of Jerusalem to secure the march organized by settlers on the 56th anniversary of the occupation and annexation of the eastern part of Jerusalem according to the Hebrew calendar.

The police deployed about 3,300 of its members, erected military checkpoints and completely closed the Damascus Gate area to the movement of Palestinians, and the occupation police issued a statement saying that the route of the march would not include storming Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Settlers gather near Damascus Gate area in occupied Jerusalem (Reuters)

In the city of Lod, inside the Green Line, another march was held with a few thousand settlers waving Israeli flags to commemorate the completion of the occupation of Jerusalem, its unification and its declaration as the capital of Israel.

Storming Al , Aqsa

More than one thousand two hundred settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning, hours before the start of the flag march organized by settlers and followers of extremist religious currents.

Al Jazeera correspondent reported that these raids were attended by a minister in the Israeli government and three members of the Knesset (Israeli parliament).

An Israeli journalist posted on his Twitter account a video documenting the participation of the Minister of Development of the Negev and Galilee, Yitzhak Wasserlaf, in storming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning.

On the other hand, the Palestinian presidency warned that the march of flags will lead to tension and the explosion of the situation, and the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the Israeli government fully and directly responsible for the provocative march and its results and repercussions, not only in Jerusalem but on the arena of conflict, as it put it.

The Palestinians say that Israel is working intensively to Judaize East Jerusalem and obliterate its Islamic and Arab identity, and they are clinging to it as the capital of their hoped-for state, based on international legitimacy resolutions, which do not recognize Israel's occupation of the city in 1967, nor its annexation in 1981.

Hamas Movement

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the Palestinian people "will not allow the passage of the occupation plans aimed at tampering with the identity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and will continue their legitimate struggle to establish the identity of the Palestinian Arab and Islamic mosque."

The spokesman stressed, in a press statement, that the incursions of settlers and ministers from the occupation government to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the attack on the marabouts and marabouts therein, are an escalation of the religious war waged by the occupation in the city of Jerusalem.

Dozens in the Gaza Strip at two separate rallies on Thursday waved Palestinian flags and denounced the march of flags.

The first was organized by the government media office (run by Hamas) in Gaza City, while the second was organized in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis and organized by the General Authority for Youth and Culture and youth centers.

Jordan also warned of "the worsening of the situation in light of allowing the provocative escalatory march in occupied Jerusalem," and the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it condemned allowing an Israeli government minister, members of the Knesset and extremists to storm Al-Aqsa.