Israeli PM bans far-right lawmaker from Jerusalem to join flag march

By Abdelraouf Arna'out
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday ordered a ban on far-right lawmaker Itamar BenGvir from accessing Jerusalem's Bab al-Amud area to join a planned settler flag march.

"I have no intention of letting minor politics to endanger human lives. I won't allow BenGvir's political provocation to endanger the lives of the [Israeli] soldiers and police," Bennett said in a statement.

He added that the ban was enforced upon recommendations from Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev, the Shin Bet internal security agency and police.

The Israeli premier, however, said the planned flag march will take place on its date. The march is an Israeli event also known as Jerusalem Day which marks the anniversary of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

BenGvir, for his part, slammed the premier’s ban order, saying he does not "take orders from Bennett". He threatened to reach Bab al-Amud, also known as the Damascus Gate, by himself if no agreement is reached between police and the rally organizers.

Early on Wednesday, several Palestinians groups warned against organizing the flag march in occupied East Jerusalem. Last year’s march was a reason for the worst wave of violence in Gaza in years between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel.

Tensions have been running high across the Palestinian territories since last week when Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard in Jerusalem and attacked worshippers.

Daily settler incursions into the flashpoint site to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday have further inflamed the situation.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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

Writing by Ahmed Asmar