Tensions over Israeli nationalist march through Palestinian area of Jerusalem

The annual march commemorates “Jerusalem Day”, which marks Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israeli police officers separate Israelis and Palestinians in a street in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City (AP)

Thousands of mostly ultranationalist Israelis are expected to take part in an annual march through a dense Palestinian area in Jerusalem’s Old City in an event that often sees racist chants and brawls.

Jerusalem, the epicentre of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been mostly calm throughout the Israel-Hamas war, but the march could ignite widespread tensions, as it did three years ago, when it helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza.