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Right-wing Flag March in Jerusalem’s Old City features arrests, racist chants
(JTA) — At a right-wing parade celebrating Jerusalem Day, police arrested both participants and protesters, while marchers assaulted Palestinians and once again chanted racist slogans.
The parade is an annual event that takes thousands of mostly religious Jewish marchers through Jerusalem’s Old City, including its Muslim Quarter. It celebrates the reunification of Israel’s capital following the Israeli capture of the city’s eastern district in the 1967 Six-Day War. The march is known to attract groups of far-right participants, and police ask Arab Jerusalemites to shutter their shops along the parade route.
Outbreaks of violence have often accompanied the event. In 2021, clashes surrounding the parade, and a subsequent rocket attack by Hamas, preceded an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as riots and violence in Arab-Jewish cities within Israel.
This year, hundreds of Palestinians along the Gaza border protested the march, and the Israel Defense Forces said some threw explosive devices toward the security barrier. Israeli forces responded with live fire and tear gas.
During the march, two participants were arrested for throwing stones and water bottles at Palestinian journalists covering the event, some of whom were injured. There were additional scuffles between marchers and Palestinians. As in past years, marchers also chanted racist slogans, such as “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn.”
Ahead of the march, 10 left-wing protesters were arrested, including some who blocked Route 60, a central West Bank thoroughfare used to travel from Israeli settlements to Jerusalem. American Jews were among the group that blocked the highway, according to a statement from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, which was one of the protest organizers. The statement said the activists “are supporting Palestinian communities across Jerusalem through participating in protests, documenting anti-Palestinian state-settler violence in the streets of the Old City, and providing a supportive presence to our partners.”
A dozen politicians participated in the march this year, including far-right government ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and members of their parties. Yuli Edelstein, a lawmaker and former minister from the Likud Party, also attended, and wrote on Twitter, “There’s nothing more exciting and right than celebrating 56 years since the liberation and unification of Jerusalem together with tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters.”
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The post Right-wing Flag March in Jerusalem’s Old City features arrests, racist chants appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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China, Saudi Arabia Agree to Strengthen Coordination on Regional, Global Matters
Flags of China and Saudi Arabia are seen in this picture, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour
China and Saudi Arabia agreed to have closer communication and coordination on regional and international issues, with Beijing lauding Riyadh’s role in Middle East diplomacy, statements following a meeting between the nations’ foreign ministers on Sunday showed.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a three-nation tour in the Middle East that began in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to end in Jordan. He met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in Riyadh on Sunday.
A joint statement published by China’s official news agency Xinhua did not elaborate on what issues the countries will strengthen coordination on, but mentioned China’s support for Saudi Arabia and Iran developing and enhancing their relations.
“(China) appreciates Saudi Arabia’s leading role and efforts to achieve regional and international security and stability,” the statement released on Monday said.
The statement also reiterated both countries’ support for a “comprehensive and just settlement” of the Palestinian issue and the formation of an independent state for Palestinians.
At a high-level meeting, Wang told his Saudi counterpart that China has always regarded Saudi Arabia as a “priority for Middle East diplomacy” and an important partner in global diplomacy, a Chinese foreign ministry statement on Monday said.
He also encouraged more cooperation in energy and investments, as well as in the fields of new energy and green transformation.
The countries have agreed to mutually exempt visas for diplomatic and special passport holders from both sides, according to the joint statement.
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Report: Iran Considers Removing Hezbollah Leader Naim Qassem
Lebanon’s Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem gives a televised speech from an unknown location, July 30, 2025, in this screen grab from video. Photo: Al Manar TV/REUTERS TV/via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran is reportedly dissatisfied with the performance of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and is preparing to reorganize the group’s leadership, potentially removing him from his position, according to a report by Emirati outlet Erem News citing senior Lebanese diplomatic sources.
The report claims Tehran views Qassem as “unsuitable to lead Hezbollah at this critical stage,” arguing that he has failed to meet the leadership standards set by his predecessor, longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Iranian officials are said to believe Qassem lacks sufficient political acumen and hold him responsible for the deterioration in relations between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state.
According to Erem News, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to oversee preparations for restructuring Hezbollah’s internal leadership during an upcoming visit to Beirut.
The visit is intended to assess the organization’s internal climate through direct meetings with senior Hezbollah figures and influential operatives.
“The Iranian minister seeks to monitor the general climate within Hezbollah and convey an accurate picture of the internal situation to decision-makers in Tehran,” the report said, adding that the findings would be used to inform “crucial decisions regarding anticipated changes at the head of the organization, most notably the fate of Naim Qassem.”
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Iran’s Foreign Minister to Visit Russia and Belarus, Foreign Ministry Says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran‘s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, will visit Russia and Belarus in the next two to three days, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Sunday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan on Friday.