Large forces of the Israeli occupation stormed at dawn today, Thursday, the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, and Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that those forces surrounded the Old City, and Palestinian media also reported clashes with the occupation forces and the fall of injuries.
This comes at a time when the occupation authorities have tightened their procedures in Jerusalem and prevented young men from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Fajr prayer. They have also strengthened their security and military measures in the occupied city to protect the so-called “flags’ march” organized today, Thursday, by extremist right-wing groups and settlers, on the anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem. according to the Hebrew calendar.
The occupation forces stormed the city of Nablus coincided with gunfire, and the occupation soldiers fired tear gas canisters at houses during the storming of the Old City, according to local Palestinian media.
The Palestinian Red Crescent indicated that its medical teams dealt with a rubber bullet injury, two bruises, and dozens of suffocation cases during the occupation’s incursion into the city of Nablus.
Other areas in the West Bank also witnessed incursions by the occupation in the early hours of dawn, including the town of Beit Ur al-Tahta (west of Ramallah) and the village of Burqa (east of Ramallah). The soldiers also stormed the village of Merah Riah in Bethlehem and arrested a person.
watched| Occupation forces fire tear gas canisters at houses during the storming of the Old City of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/wUEF9Y5C5t
– Quds News Network (@qudsn) May 18, 2023
proceedings in Jerusalem
Meanwhile, the occupation forces imposed strict security measures in occupied Jerusalem ahead of the so-called “flag march”, and in this context, the occupation soldiers tightened the measures at the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented young men from entering it to perform the dawn prayer today, Thursday, according to what the Palestinian media reported. local.
The alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed, at dawn today, Thursday, an alert by the occupation forces.
Lens Al-Qastal monitors the alert of the occupation forces in the alleys of the Old City leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque pic.twitter.com/PxitMbCRrY
– Al-Qastal News | Jerusalem (@AlQastalps) May 18, 2023
The occupation authorities announced security and military measures to protect the flag march organized by right-wing groups today, Thursday, on the anniversary of Israel’s occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew calendar. The Israeli army took measures along the borders with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, raising the state of alert of its forces and strengthening them with the Iron Dome system.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously stated that the march would take place as planned and on the same scheduled path.
The Israeli news channel 13 said – last Monday – that 4 ministers announced their participation in the march, and they are the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, the Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Transportation Miri Regev, and the Minister of Negev Development Isaac Wasserlov.
The Israeli newspaper “Jerusalem Post” quoted Ben Gvir as saying, “Unequivocally, the flag march, the holiday march, the ascension of the Jews to the Temple Mount, without anyone thinking about the possibility of threatening them or harming them, is a message to the entire world.”
Extremist Israeli right-wing groups also called for massive storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque today, Thursday, while carrying Israeli flags.
The occupation police said earlier that the march will take place in two tracks: the first starts from West Jerusalem, passing through the Hebron Gate, one of the gates of the Old City, then opposite the Armenian Quarter, to the Al-Buraq Wall.
As for the second path, it starts from West Jerusalem, passing through the Damascus Gate, then through the valley to the Al-Buraq Wall, which is a provocative path for the Palestinians.
The occupation authorities leave the participants in the march to choose the path they wish to take.
For those who do not know what the march of the Zionist flags is..
Why will all of Palestine ignite and rise up against the occupation and its settlers tomorrow?
– Al-Hakeem (@Hakeam_ps) May 17, 2023
Palestinian warnings
In the face of Israeli calls, the leader of the Hamas movement, Mushir al-Masri, called on the people of Jerusalem to mobilize the masses to confront the march of flags in Jerusalem. He also called on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the occupied interior to clash with the occupation, stressing that the resistance is ready to preserve Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent the Judaization of Jerusalem.
Al-Masry’s statement came during a stand in the Gaza Strip yesterday, Wednesday, rejecting the march of the flags, and a number of religious scholars in the Strip participated in the stand.
A member of the political bureau of Hamas, Salah al-Bardawil, said, “The march of the Zionist flags will not pass, and the response will inevitably come.”
Weeks ago, Palestinian factions demanded the cancellation of the flag march, which in the past caused clashes between Palestinians on the one hand, and settlers and Israeli police officers on the other.
The spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, also warned against the Israeli government’s insistence on organizing the march, describing it as provocative. Abu Rudeineh explained that the calls of extremists to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque march will ignite the region, and the consequences of such attempts will be dire.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the Israeli government fully and directly responsible for the provocative so-called “flag march”, its results and repercussions, not only in Jerusalem but also on the conflict arena, according to its expression. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry added that the flag march is conclusive evidence that Jerusalem is occupied.