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Israeli ultranationalists chant racist slogans during Jerusalem Day march

Annual Jerusalem Day march fuels tensions with shouted slogans and fears of violence against Palestinian residents.

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Large crowds of ultranationalist Israelis gather at the foot of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate on Thursday, May 14. [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

By AFP, AP and Reuters

Published On 14 May 202614 May 2026

Israeli ultranationalists marching through Jerusalem’s Old City chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn” during the annual Jerusalem Day parade, as many Palestinian residents stayed indoors and shuttered their shops.

Tens of thousands of Israelis – many of them teenagers and young adults – take part each year in the march, which Israeli authorities say celebrates the “reunification” of Jerusalem after Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.

The annexation of East Jerusalem, home to a predominantly Palestinian population, was illegal under international law, according to the United Nations.

Over the years, the march has frequently descended into violence, with groups of mainly young ultranationalists targeting Palestinians with racist chants, intimidation and physical assaults. This year’s event took place against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Iran and a so-called “ceasefire” in Gaza, marked by near-daily violations by Israeli forces.

By late morning, most Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City had pulled down their metal shutters and deserted the narrow stone alleyways. Some Israeli marchers banged on the closed shutters as they passed, while others clapped rhythmically and chanted.

Authorities at times order Palestinian businesses to close during the march, which culminates at the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site.

A small number of Palestinian-owned shops remained open under the protection of activists from Standing Together, an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots movement that deployed volunteers across the Old City to try to shield residents and businesses from harassment.

“Our presence is to just protect people from being attacked, places from being vandalised. And we try to de-escalate this day,” said Rula Daoud, the group’s co-director, who noted that the march was becoming more violent every year. She accused Israeli police of failing to intervene to curb the abuses.

“This day, thousands of basically settlers and right-wing fascist young and older people will be roaming the streets chanting very racist things, trying to destroy places owned by Palestinians and just terrorising the whole place,” she said.

Journalists covering the march also faced hostility, with some reporters shoved and blocked from filming by participants, according to local media.

Israeli youths walk through the streets of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City shouting slogans as they gather for a march marking Jerusalem Day. [Leo Correa/AP Photo]

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir waves as people take part in the annual Jerusalem Day march. Earlier in the day, he made a controversial visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

A Palestinian man closes his shop in East Jerusalem’s Old City ahead of the Jerusalem Day parade. Each year, thousands of Israeli nationalists march through the city, including predominantly Palestinian neighbourhoods, waving Israeli flags and often shouting hateful slogans. [Ilia Yefimovich/AFP]

By early Thursday, most Palestinian residents of the area had locked themselves in their homes and shopkeepers hung heavy padlocks on the doors, closing down early for safety. [Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo]

The procession often leads to violent attacks by ultranationalists against Palestinian residents. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Israeli security officials detain a woman during the annual Jerusalem Day march, in East Jerusalem’s Old City. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Scuffles broke out when groups of young marchers entered the Old City before the start of the march, and attacked Palestinians in the Christian quarter. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Hashoteret Az-Oolay, a clown who is a fixture at left-wing Israeli protests, stands at Damascus gate ahead of the march. [Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo]

The march commemorates what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 war. [Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters]