The leader of the Hezbollah terrorist group, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Wednesday that if Israel “violates” mosques on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it “will cause an explosion in the region,” adding his threats to those of Palestinian terrorist groups over the disputed flag march for Jerusalem Day.
The flag march generally attracts thousands of hard-line Israeli nationalists, who march through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter to reach the Western Wall to celebrate the anniversary of the city’s unification in 1967. This year’s event takes place on Sunday.
In a speech marking the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2000, Nasrallah warned of provocations in the coming days.
“I want to tell the enemy government… and those dealing with the regional situation. Any breach of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock will blow up the region,” Nasrallah said. “It will provoke all Arab and Islamic peoples and every free person.”
The Dome of the Rock and adjacent Al-Aqsa Mosque are the focal point of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest in Islam.
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“You have to know that trying to attack against Al-Aqsa and the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem could – no, will – lead to an explosion in the region,” he said.
Hezbollah fighters raise their hands as their leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah speaks via video link during a rally in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon April 29, 2022. (Hasan Ammar/AP)
“The Palestinian resistance factions as a whole have opted for a clear, clear response, that if it comes to that, there will be a strong, tremendous response,” Nasrallah said. “If that happens, the Resistance has pledged to respond. This could lead to a major explosion inside Palestine.”
Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip also warned Israel about the march.
Al-Mayadeen, a Lebanese network affiliated with terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, reported that Palestinian terrorist groups have not ruled out a “response” from Gaza should “provocations” occur during Sunday’s flag march.
“Response to the provocations will come from all arenas, including Gaza,” Al-Mayadeen said, adding that the terrorist groups relayed them to Egyptian and international mediators.
“The Resistance informed the mediators that it will not allow settler brawls in Jerusalem,” the agency said.
In a statement on the massive security measures for the march, the Israeli police stressed that marchers would not be allowed to climb the Temple Mount.
Israeli police patrol during a rescheduled flag march on June 15, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Officials fear a repeat of violence surrounding the annual Jerusalem Day flag march.
A major concern is rocket fire from Gaza, public broadcaster Kan reported, citing police plans that include rapid evacuation of the thousands of participants if the country is attacked. Last year, the Hamas terror group fired rockets at Jerusalem as the march was underway, forcing it to be halted and postponed a month later.
As a precaution, the IDF has strengthened its air defense systems against Gaza, according to the Kan report.
Also on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Jerusalem issued a warning, banning its employees from entering the Old City at any time on Sunday.
The embassy said US government employees are not allowed to be in the Old City after dark or on Fridays, are not allowed to use Damascus, Herod and Lions Gate, and are not allowed to enter the Old City “at any time on Sunday, May 29.”
It also urged US citizens to stay alert and exercise caution. “The security environment is complex and can change rapidly depending on the political situation and recent events.”
Jewish nationalists wave Israeli flags during the flag march next to the Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP/Ariel Shalit)
Police are on high alert ahead of the nationalist march amid various threats from Hamas and fears of a repeat of last year’s event in which rockets were fired into Jerusalem and sparked an 11-day conflict.
Jerusalem was nervous ahead of the parade, largely due to tensions surrounding the holy site of the Temple Mount.
The parade’s route is fraught with tension, with opponents seeing its procession through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter as a provocation and supporters as expressing Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem.
After announcing the march route last week, Palestinian terrorist groups warned against allowing the event.
Israel is sending messages to the Hamas terror group through Egypt and Qatar in hopes tensions won’t boil over during a nationalist march through the Old City next week, Channel 13 News reported on Tuesday.
Israel has argued in its message to Hamas that the route of the march is the same as it has been for years and should not be taken as casus belli, the network reported.
It also warned that if Hamas launches rockets or allows other groups to do so, Israel will be ready to retaliate in the Gaza Strip, where the terrorist group is based.
According to Channel 13, the army believes the event can be peaceful as long as there are no bouts of serious violence and all sides keep a cool head.
Police have limited participation to 16,000 on the part of the march that goes through the Old City as a precaution against annihilation after a deadly incident at a pilgrimage in the north of the country last year that left 45 dead.
Also on Wednesday, the IDF reportedly fired tear gas at Lebanese protesters who had gathered at the border fence to mark the 2000 withdrawal.
The army said in a statement that there were “dozens of suspects on Lebanese territory near the fence between Misgav Am and Metula. The suspects throw stones and Molotov cocktails at the fence.”
An unconfirmed video shared on social media showed protesters hurling stones and other objects over the border wall and into Israeli territory.
People at the Lebanese-Israeli border wall threw stones and were met with tear gas. A few Hezbollah flags can be seen in the frame. pic.twitter.com/m1dbADrRWI
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 25, 2022
Home “@Itay Blumental @GalAharonovich pic.twitter.com/SFyf9OKSJP
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 25, 2022
The Lebanese newspaper Naharnet reported that Israeli forces fired tear gas at the protesters, injuring several from the gas.
Aaron Boxerman contributed to this report.
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