Jerusalem, Israel - Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem on Wednesday, attacking journalists and provoking confrontations with police.

The annual Flag March celebrates Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem after the Six-Day War of 1967.

Critics accuse organizers of deliberately antagonizing the divided city's Palestinian community, with tensions especially high this year amid Israel's brutal war on Gaza.

The Middle East Eye reported that the Israeli settlers had pressured Palestinian shop owners to close their businesses, threw stones at Palestinians, and chanted "Death to Arabs" and "Muhammad is dead."

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Large contingents of police separated demonstrators and Palestinians in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City on Wednesday, Israeli media reported, with some Israeli participants being arrested for attacking a group of journalists.

A reporter from Israel's Haaretz newspaper wrote on the social media platform X that a colleague was attacked after defending fellow journalists. Five people were detained in the incident, police said.

Before the Six-Day War, Jordan administered East Jerusalem, which contains major religious monuments including the Wailing Wall – one of the holiest sites in Judaism – and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount – the third holiest site in Islam.

Around 800 Israelis raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Jewish rituals there on Wednesday, the Wafa news agency reported.

Unsolicited visits and religious rituals by non-Muslims are expressly forbidden, but Israelis regularly breach these international agreements and its troops routinely empty the mosque of Palestinians.