JERUSALEM (AP) — Large crowds of ultranationalist Jews gathered Thursday at the foot of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, chanting racist slogans like “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn” as they began an annual parade through the Palestinian areas of the Old City, a procession often characterized by violence.

The young, mostly male group did their chanting under the eye of Israeli police, who had barred off parts of the plaza for journalists to cover the event safely. Normally a bustling marketplace for Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem, the area was devoid of Palestinians, many of whom had barricaded themselves inside their homes and closed their shops for the day.

The march commemorates what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, marking Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. This year it comes as the country moves toward new elections, and Israel’s hard-line government is eager to bolster support among its religious and nationalist base.