Police chief to meet with security officials to decide on Jerusalem flag parade

Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai is set to hold a meeting with various security officials in the next hour to discuss a planned right-wing nationalist march to be held in Jerusalem later this week.

He will subsequently decide whether to recommend that Public Security Minister Amir Ohana cancel the march due to a fear that it could fuel a broader Israeli-Palestinian conflagration over the city, Channel 12 news reported.

Israelis stream into Jerusalem’s Old City through the Jaffa Gate during the annual flag march on May 10, 2021 (Sarah Tuttle-Singer/Times of Israel)

The Flag March, a controversial annual parade, was rescheduled for Thursday after it was canceled mid-event on May 10, Jerusalem Day, when Hamas fired rockets toward the city, setting off 11 days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz signaled yesterday he will demand the cancellation of the march, which is being backed by some of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies. Netanyahu, who is facing the prospect of being replaced as premier if the so-called “change government” is sworn in, has yet to comment publicly on the matter.

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