Israeli police to allow 'dangerous' extremist Jewish march in occupied East Jerusalem

Jewish Israeli far-right groups are planning a provocative march in Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday evening, 7 December, coinciding with the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The Israeli police permitted the rally but said it restricted the number of participants to 200. The rally's exact route is unclear, but the police reportedly said they would not allow the participants to come near the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

One of the organisers of the rally, the Beyadenu movement, has a stated mission for the "realisation and application of full Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount". Jews refer to the site as the "Temple Mount". 

The ralliers demand the "restoration" of "complete" Jewish control over the Temple Mount and Jerusalem and the removal of the Islamic Waqf authority, the party that runs the affairs of the Muslim holy site. 

Jordan is the custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. 

Genocidal Zionist ideology, manifested in their desire to destroy the Al-Aqsa compound and build a temple on its ruins, is pulsing through the Israeli military as it assaults Gaza. I show the evidence here.

Via @UncapturedNewshttps://t.co/cUGAbURd8q pic.twitter.com/d0cA2XegYt

— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) November 30, 2023

Last May, during the march of the flags parade, thousands of Jewish extremists stormed the Old City of Jerusalem under Israeli police protection, attacking Palestinians and journalists. 

Muslim worship at the holy site has been severely restricted in the past two months following the 7 October attacks. The Muslim Friday prayers, which traditionally attract tens of thousands of Palestinians to the Al-Aqsa, have dwindled to fewer than five thousand worshipers as a result of restrictive measures by the Israeli police. 

Tensions typically rise in occupied East Jerusalem during the Jewish holidays amid calls from fundamentalist Israeli settlers and politicians to allow Jewish prayer at the holy site. 

Hamas launched its offensive against bordering Israeli settlements on 7 October, partly in response to Israeli violations in the Al-Aqsa.