Occupied East Jerusalem was placed under sweeping security lockdown on Thursday as Israeli authorities prepared for the annual nationalist “Flag March”, an event held to commemorate Israel’s capture of the eastern part of the city in 1967. Large sections of the Old City were transformed into heavily monitored zones, with thousands of police officers, border forces and mounted units deployed around Damascus Gate, Al-Aqsa Mosque and surrounding neighbourhoods. Roads were sealed off with metal barricades while Palestinian-owned shops along key routes were ordered to shut down ahead of the procession.

The march, expected to draw thousands of Israeli nationalists through the Muslim Quarter and towards the Western Wall, has long been viewed by Jerusalem residents as a day marked by intimidation, movement restrictions and incendiary chants. Earlier in the day, hundreds of settlers entered the Al-Aqsa compound under armed police protection, where religious rituals and nationalist displays were carried out inside the site. Entry restrictions were also imposed on worshippers, with many younger Palestinians prevented from accessing the mosque from dawn onwards.

Residents of the Old City described an atmosphere of paralysis as families remained indoors and movement through narrow alleyways became nearly impossible. The route of the march cuts through densely populated Palestinian areas, where previous editions of the event have been accompanied by racist slogans, harassment and violent confrontations. The growing security presence has reinforced fears among Jerusalemites that the annual procession is increasingly being used to entrench Israeli control over contested religious and historical sites in the city.

Political and religious observers warned that this year’s events come amid heightened tensions fuelled by the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza and escalating pressure on Palestinian communities across occupied Jerusalem. Concerns have also intensified over repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque by far-right groups and senior Israeli officials, moves widely perceived as attempts to alter the longstanding status quo governing the holy site.

Analysts in Jerusalem said the Flag March has evolved beyond a symbolic celebration into a demonstration of dominance over the occupied city. They argue that the combination of mass settler mobilisation, severe movement restrictions and provocative displays inside and around Al-Aqsa reflects a broader strategy aimed at reshaping the identity and demographic character of East Jerusalem. Many residents fear the event further deepens hostility and accelerates policies of displacement, exclusion and forced control over Palestinian life in the city.