Hamas urges Palestinians to rally ahead of Jerusalem flag march

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Saturday called on Palestinians to rally in East Jerusalem on Sunday amid plans for a flag march by Israeli settlers through the occupied city.

In a statement, Hamas called for making Sunday a “day of popular protests in defense of Jerusalem and the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Israeli settlers plan the flag march on Sunday to mark what they call the day of unifying Jerusalem, in reference to Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided to keep the route of the march to go through occupied East Jerusalem.

Bennett said the march's route will remain the same as in the past years to end by the Al-Buraq Wall, which Jews refer to as the Western Wall.

The march is expected to pass from Bab al-Amud (Damascus Gate) area and other areas of East Jerusalem's Old City.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara