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Israeli opposition leader calls East Jerusalem march a ‘festival of hatred’
Yair Lapid says attacks on Palestinian residents and shops in occupied East Jerusalem, a routine occurrence during a march through the Old City on Jerusalem Day by Israeli ultranationalists, are a “disgrace” that some in the government bear responsibility for.
“The festival of hatred and racism, in which Jewish teenagers attack Arab neighbourhoods, has already become a tradition on Jerusalem Day in the Old City,” Lapid said in a social media post.
“It is a disgrace and an insult to Judaism. There is nothing Jewish about this violence. The government ministers who remain silent in the face of these events are complicit in this disgrace.”
UN: Israeli police fail to protect compound stormed on ‘Jerusalem Day’
Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs for the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, says the storming of a UN compound by Israeli nationalists is a violation of Israel’s obligations as a member of the UN.
“The group brought flags and erected banners, seeking to claim the compound for the establishment of a new Israeli neighbourhood. Israeli police, alerted to the scene, failed to protect the inviolability of the UN premises,” Friedrich said in a social media post.
“Following months of aggravated harassment directed towards the site and the entry into force of two anti-UNRWA Knesset laws in January 2025, UNRWA was forced to vacate the compound and withdraw under protest all its international staff.”
He added: “This unauthorised entry represents another violation of Israel’s obligations as a UN member state to protect UN premises and facilitate humanitarian work. UNRWA condemns today’s illegal provocation.”
