In pics | Thousands of Israelis participate in contentious 'flag march' in Jerusalem, rattles Palestinians

Every year Israelis celebrate what they call Jerusalem Day which marks Israel's capture of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war with the annual flag-waving march being the main celebration.

However, Palestinians have long condemned this as a blatant provocation which they say is meant to undermine their ties to the city. 

The commemoration of the day took place on Thursday (May 18) amid heavy police presence and in large part passed without any major security incidents when compared to previous years. 

Palestinians view the heavily policed Jerusalem Day procession as an attempt by Israel to bolster Jewish presence across the city to their detriment. While Israel annexed East Jerusalem decades ago and claimed the entire Jerusalem as its capital, however, it is not internationally recognised. 

Therefore, while Israelis were celebrating their 'Flag March' Palestinians organised their own flag marches across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Palestinian Islamist-ruled Gaza on Thursday. The processions took a few hundred metres away from the Israel-Gaza separation fence. 

According to a report by AFP, thousands gathered for a rival flag day on the Israeli border in Gaza and Israeli troops fired tear gas towards anyone seen approaching the border fence. 

Israel marked what they call Jerusalem with tens of thousands of Israelis marching through Jerusalem's walled Old City under heavy security, on Thursday. The march took place in the afternoon where, as per media reports, rowdy crowds of Jewish youth danced and chanted anti-Arab slogans.

Furthermore, Palestinians in annexed East Jerusalem closed their shops and were banned from the Damascus Gate which is the entrance to the Old City for the day. 

Multiple media outlets reported that their journalists were attacked with rocks and bottles. This comes as some 2,500 officers were assigned to the march to keep it peaceful.

News agency AFP reported that two people, one adult and one minor, were arrested for attacking journalists standing in the media area, while images show Israelis shouting towards the media workers present there. 

A Palestinian security source in Gaza told AFP, that the territory's Islamist rulers, Hamas, fired a "warning rocket" into the sea, without elaborating.

This also comes as they had previously said that they condemn the "campaign of the Zionist occupation (Israel) against our Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem".

A 72-year-old resident Abu al-Abed told AFP that he just "wanted "to go home". The marchers "are harmful, they're walking and start to hit the doors of the shops and the doors of our houses." 

At the end of the march, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the march to go ahead despite security concerns.

"Jerusalem will stay united forever, said Netanyahu, as quoted by Reuters. Speaking late morning, he also said Jerusalem "75 after it was re-established as the capital of the reborn state of Israel, and 56 years after being reunited".

Notably, several senior ministers of the Israeli government, Minister of National Security,  Itamar Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Transport Minister Miri Regev, were also a part of the march, on Thursday.

"Today, we say to Hamas who threatened us: 'Jerusalem is ours,'" said Ben-Gvir said in a statement, as per AFP.

Ahead of the march at least three lawmakers from Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and a minister from Ben-Gvir's faction visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

While the Jews call it Temple Mount and consider it their religion's holiest site they are allowed to visit but not pray. 

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said "Jerusalem, with its Islamic and Christian sanctities, is the eternal capital of the State of Palestine".

Abbas also said that he had warned Israel against the organisation of the "provocative flag march".

Additionally, spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh one day before the march said, that going ahead with the parade "confirms the acquiescence of the Israeli government to Jewish extremists". 

This year, the flag march which was held under heavy police presence did not witness any major violence aside from a scuffle which broke out between Jewish and Palestinian youths ahead of the march near Damascus gate referring to which the police said some cases forces "were required to act to prevent friction and provocations".

Notably, last year, at least 79 people were injured during what Israel calls Jerusalem Day after police clashed with Palestinian counter-protesters outside Damascus Gate.  

The possibility of violence at today's march was high considering the fighting between Israel and Gaza militants ended just last week following an Egypt-mediated truce between the two factions. At least 34 Palestinians and one Israeli was killed during the hostilities which went on for days.