Politicians Pan ‘Panicked’ Police Push to Pause Postponed Parade, Preserve Public Peace  

Israel Police on Monday announced it would not approve the controversial flag march scheduled for Thursday in Jerusalem, offering the event’s organizers to either change the march’s planned route or its date. Following a threat assessment meeting, law enforcement officials determined the right-wing-led parade, intended to pass through the Old City’s highly volatile Muslim Quarter and Damascus Gate compound, would compromise public safety and could lead to renewed clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens and possibly a fresh round of hostilities elsewhere in the region. The event’s leaders, including far-right-wing parliament member and chair of the Religious Zionism party, Bezalel Smotritch, panned the decision, calling it a “shameful capitulation to terror.” Others vowed to defy police orders and march through the tense streets of east Jerusalem anyway, explaining that the event is meant to replace the original one canceled last month due to the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.