Israelis Chant ‘Death to Arabs’ at Jerusalem Day March

Tens of thousands of ultranationalist Israelis stormed Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday, chanting “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn” during the annual Jerusalem Day parade, as many Palestinian residents stayed indoors and shuttered their shops. The Flag March turned chaotic within hours. Police arrested 13 people. Global outrage is now mounting over scenes that critics say expose Israel’s deepening political fault lines.

Old City Empties as Crowds Flood Damascus Gate

The march began at Damascus Gate, the main entry into the Muslim Quarter. Large crowds, made up mostly of young religious nationalist men, gathered outside Damascus Gate before the procession began, waving Israeli flags, singing nationalist songs and shouting slogans including “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn.”

By midday, the once-bustling Muslim Quarter looked like a ghost town. Damascus Gate, usually crowded with Palestinian families, merchants and shoppers from east Jerusalem, stood largely deserted as Palestinian residents stayed indoors and businesses shut their doors hours before the march arrived. Metal shutters and heavy padlocks lined the narrow streets around the Old City as residents prepared for potential confrontations that have become a recurring feature of the annual event.

Some of the chants heard along the route included:

• “Death to Arabs”
• “May your villages burn”
• “Muhammad is dead”
• “A Jew is a soul, an Arab is a son of a whore”

Marchers put up stickers on shuttered storefronts lauding the death penalty law championed by Ben Gvir, which mandates the punishment for Palestinians convicted of lethal terror attacks, as well as the extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who advocated the expulsion of Arabs from the historic land of Israel.

Ben Gvir Raises Israeli Flag on Al-Aqsa Compound

Hours before the parade kicked off, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir made his move at the most sensitive holy site in the region. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, alongside hundreds of settlers. The far-right politician then brandished an Israeli flag and declared “The Temple Mount is in our hands”, invoking the extremist desire of full Israeli sovereignty over one of the holiest sites in Islam.

Standing beside him was Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer. Kroizer, in a Facebook post later in the day said it was time to remove the mosque and build a Third Jewish temple in its place.

The reaction from Amman was swift and sharp. Jordan condemned Ben-Gvir’s stunt, with the Foreign Ministry calling it a “blatant violation of international law, an unacceptable provocation, and a flagrant breach of the historical and legal status quo”.

Peace Activists and Reporters Beaten in the Streets

Hundreds of Jewish and Palestinian peace activists tried to shield Old City residents. “We are here to show that we will not abandon our neighbors,” said Ori Shaham, a spokesperson for Standing Together, the left-wing Israeli peace group, which brought 200 volunteers in bright purple vests to accompany Arab residents who might be at risk.

But the police pushed back hard against them. “[Police] choose to remove us [from the Old City], but right next to us, a group of settlers passed by while shouting ‘death to Arabs’ and the police don’t do anything,” said Alon Lee Green, one of the movement’s founders, as officers shoved him toward the Old City’s exit.

Reporters fared no better. Before the official march began, mobs of right-wing teenagers roved through the Old City, kicking and spitting on reporters while trying to steal their phones as they covered the event. A horde of teenagers spat on this reporter while trying to steal his phone as he filmed the main route in the Muslim Quarter, knocking the device to the ground.

An Israeli police officer in Jerusalem’s Old City pushed Haaretz journalist Linda Dayan while wearing a press card after refusing her request to accompany her out of the area. Teenagers and youth, seemingly as young as 10 years old, threw water and coffee at her, and stole the phone of another journalist in the area.

A Holiday Shaped by Politics and Provocation

Jerusalem Day marks Israel’s seizure of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move that the United Nations and most countries have not recognised.

The march now reflects a deep political shift inside Israel. This year it comes as the country moves toward new elections, and Israel’s hard-line government is eager to bolster support among its religious and nationalist base.

Here is how the day broke down on the ground:

Tag Meir, a coalition opposed to extremist Jewish violence, ran a parallel “March of the Flowers.” Tag Meir founder Gadi Gvaryahu told JTA that the flowers are “an apology for what is to come later in the day” and a signal of peace.

The violence is not limited to chants. Mustafa, a Palestinian resident of the Old City’s Via Dolorosa, said young ultranationalist Israelis had broken into the courtyard of his home, breaking glass and chanting “Death to Arabs”.

Veteran activists say the pattern is now routine. “Our presence is to just protect people from being attacked, places from being vandalised. And we try to de-escalate this day,” said Rula Daoud, the group’s co-director, who noted that the march was becoming more violent every year. She accused Israeli police of failing to intervene to curb the abuses.

As night fell over the Old City, the alleys of the Muslim Quarter sat silent, emptied not by celebration but by fear. For Palestinian families bolted inside their homes, the songs and chants outside felt less like a parade for unity and more like a warning of what may come next. Share your thoughts on this developing story in the comments below and join the global conversation using #JerusalemDay and #FlagMarch across X and Instagram.