The march commemorates what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel's capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews in the 1967 Mideast war.
Yehonatan Sopher, 21, said he has been participating in the annual march since coming with his family as a child. This year, he said he came with fellow students at a Jewish seminary he attends in northern Israel, spending the night in prayer and Torah study before traveling to Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is one of the most meaningful things in our religion," he said. “It's the root of everything.”
Earlier in the day, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir staged another visit to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the hilltop compound that is currently home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount, where the biblical temples once stood and the holiest site in Judaism.
Ben Gvir raised an Israeli flag, singing and claiming “the Temple Mount is in our hands,” referencing a famous statement from the Israeli paratrooper commander in 1967 who announced Israeli control of parts of the Old City.
Jerusalem lies at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Each sees the city as a key part of their national and religious identity. It is one of the most intractable issues of the conflict and is often a flashpoint.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal, undivided capital.
