By midday, the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City in occupied East Jerusalem had largely emptied.
"If I don't want to get attacked, I have to close," said Fadi, a 48-year-old shopkeeper, as he pulled a table inside and began lowering his metal shutter.
Under normal circumstances, Thursdays are vibrant and bustling in the Old City. But ahead of the annual Flag March by ultra-nationalist Israelis - marking “Jerusalem Day” and deliberately routed through the Muslim Quarter - Palestinian residents and traders were forced to shut up shop, barricade themselves indoors, or leave the area altogether.
Even so, groups of far-right settlers, donning their infamous knitted kippahs and long peyot, began marching through the streets hours before official festivities had started.
One group of teenagers walked past a still-open Palestinian store and began hurling insults.
