The annual Zionist “Jerusalem Day” is a celebration of the occupation of the eastern neighbourhoods of the city during the June 1967 war. Many thousands of settlers flooded the city, carrying Israeli flags, set to march to the Wailing Wall through Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter. Although activists and NGOs have warned the state against potential settler violence based on the experiences of previous years, the court greenlit the march and entrusted the police with keeping the peace. However, as the Zionist marchers neared Damascus Gate, the heavily armed police brutally attacked Palestinians, making arrests and chasing residents away with horse mounted police and stun grenades. The Zionist marchers repeatedly chanted racial slurs and assaulted Palestinians as well as journalists, as police stood idly by. Several Palestinians were lightly injured, most of whom were treated at the scene, a few transferred to hospital by the Red Crescent.

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