JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of ultranationalist Israelis marched through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem on Wednesday in an annual procession, chanting racist slogans as the countrys far-right national security minister boasted that Jews had prayed freely at a key holy site in the city in violation of decades-old understandings.

The comments by Itamar Ben-Gvir and the march in Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, threatened to stoke already high tensions that have gripped the region since the start of the war in Gaza. The annual march, seen by Palestinians as provocative, helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza three years ago.

Marchers convening outside the Damascus Gate of Jerusalems historic Old City, a central gathering place for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, chanted Death to Arabs and other anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans. They danced and waved Israeli flags as the procession kicked off.