Israelis to mark 58 years since liberation of eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria

Preparations were underway in Israel on Sunday as the Jewish state was set to celebrate Jerusalem Day, marking 58 years since the June 1967 reunification of the holy city and liberation of Judea and Samaria.

The festivities were set to kick off at sundown with a public prayer service and the unfurling of a giant Israeli flag at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City, attended by religious and public officials.

Jerusalem Day celebrations are scheduled to continue throughout the day on Monday with a festive morning prayer at the Western Wall and a special broadcast for elementary-school students, followed by the iconic Flag March with tens of thousands of participants expected to join.

Despite the ongoing war with Hamas, the parade received approval to march its usual route from the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, continuing into the Old City via Damascus Gate and ending at the Western Wall. Thousands of police officers will be deployed in the nation’s capital.

Also during the day on Monday, two state memorial ceremonies are set to be held at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl: one at 11 a.m. for Ethiopian Jews who perished on their way to Israel, and one at 2 p.m. for the fallen of the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1967-70 War of Attrition.

Jerusalem Day, celebrated on 28th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, marks the city’s reunification, an event of profound historical and religious significance for the Jewish people, bringing the city under sole Jewish rule after almost 2,000 years of foreign occupation.

As a result of the 1967 military victory, the Jewish state also captured the Golan Heights from Syria, the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, and Judea and Samaria from Jordan.

In a video message on Sunday afternoon, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the United States is “proud to join our close ally Israel in celebrating the 58th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.”

U.S. President Donald Trump “reaffirmed the historic connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem that goes back over 3,500 years when he had the moral clarity to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital and then move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem,” the ambassador said.

“On this Jerusalem Day, as thousands of Israeli soldiers are away from their families, courageously fighting terrorists in Gaza, and 58 hostages are still being held captive in the dungeons of Gaza, I want the people of Israel to know that America stands with you,” Huckabee said. “Your fight is our fight. Your enemies are our enemies. Israel’s victory is our victory, and together, we will prevail, and we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”