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Specifically, as reported by Israeli state television, during today's Cabinet meeting, strong objections were expressed by Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frez, who is the first Arab minister in Israeli parliamentary history and a member of the left-wing Meretz party.
Mr. Fres described as provocative the decision of the Minister of Public Order, Homer Bar-Lev, the day before yesterday, by which the "Parade of Flags" was set to start at the Damascus Gate, cross the main street of the Arab quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, and end at the Wailing Wall, in the adjacent Jewish quarter of the city.
According to the same media source, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly retorted that "the specific route of the parade is the one that has been set for years," adding that "the change of route decided by the previous Netanyahu government was the result of backing down from the demands made by the Hamas terrorist organization."
The "Jerusalem Day" is celebrated every year in Israel according to the Jewish religious calendar, and this year the celebrations will take place a week from today, on May 29.
Last week, the Israeli Prime Minister was the recipient of repeated protests from Jewish settlers who, during demonstrations organized by him, accused him of intolerance towards the country's Arab minority, stemming from the parliamentary support his government receives from the Arab Islamist party Ra'am.
When the Israeli Minister of Public Order's approval was announced last week for the "Parade of Flags" to cross the Arab quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah warned Israel "not to commit yet another crime."
Last year, at the start of the "Parade of Flags", Hamas launched a missile attack on Jerusalem for the first time since the summer of 2014, when an armed confrontation between the Palestinian group and the Israeli army in Gaza was underway. At the time, Hamas had issued an ultimatum to the Israeli government to remove the police forces in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Last May, immediately after Hamas fired a rocket at Jerusalem, a 12-day hostilities ensued, with Hamas rocket launches against Israeli cities, Israeli aerial bombardments in the Gaza Strip and armed clashes between Jews and Arabs in many of the country's mixed-population cities.
Source: CNA
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