Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Thursday, May 18, 2023

Jerusalem Day marchers stride into Old City through Damascus and Jaffa gates

By Carrie Keller-Lynn and Jeremy Sharon 18 May 2023, 6:49 pm 3 Edit

Jerusalem Day Flag March participants walk through the Jaffa Gate into the Old City on May 18, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

Revelers in the Flag March are streaming into the Old City of Jerusalem through two separate gates — Damascus Gate for men and Jaffa Gate for women.

The march is heavily populated by national religious teens, a movement which seeks to avoid mixed dancing.

Alongside the mostly teenaged girls entering through Jaffa Gate are a number of families, who chose a tamer route for approaching the Western Wall plaza than marchers who chose to go through the Muslim Quarter.

Police have told most Palestinian shopkeepers in the Muslim Quarter to shutter their businesses and go home in an attempt to prevent further clashes between them and the ultra-nationalist youth participating in the march.

Several such clashes occurred earlier today, before the march began.