Belfast's March for Jesus organiser makes plea for no national flags - whether UK, Irish or Israeli ones

The ‘March for Jesus’ is set to arrive at City Hall at around 2.45pm tomorrow, with a large pro-Palestine march also set to descend on the hall some time during the same afternoon, possibly overlapping.

John Ahern, the Pentecostal pastor in charge of the March for Jesus, said while he himself is "a friend of Israel" and would not share the views of the Palestine marchers, it is not a day for national flags of any stripe, whether Israeli, Irish or UK ones.

The March for Jesus begins at 10am in south Belfast’s Ormeau Park with a general gathering, where there will be children's activities and worship.

From 2pm it marches to City Hall, and the Parades Commission has been notified that up to 8,000 people could be involved.

The ‘March for Palestine: 78 years of Nakba’ meanwhile commemorates the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, which led to the displacement of around 750,000 Palestinians.

It sets off from Writers' Square in the north of the city centre to City Hall at noon.

The Parades Commission has been notified of up to 3,000 participants, and that the march is set to end at 3pm.

It is not clear if there will be a rally upon arrival at City Hall.

Mr Ahern, a former Catholic from the Republic, is a 53-year-old father of five whose All Nations Church has two congregations: one in Belfast (with about 15 people) one in Dublin (with about 1,000).

He said he was "not looking to foment any confrontation" with the pro-Palestine demonstrators, though "as a Christian I stand with the Jewish people so I would be coming from a very different perspective from them".

He described his march as "a non-political event", and asked if he advises people not to bring Israeli flags for example, he said: "I've said it openly: we'd prefer it if people would leave their national flags at home, simply because we want the focus to be on Christ.

"Any Christian banners or anything to do with Jesus is fine."

He added: "The March for Jesus is part of us mobilising the church to go outdoors and proclaim the hope we have in Christ.

"It's a celebration of Christ and the Christian faith…

"Tomorrow we hope to give people an opportunity to come to Christ.

"It's my hope certainly that it may be a 'taste and see' moment for many people maybe who don't know the Lord, or maybe people that have fallen away from him or been discouraged."

He was asked about ‘Jesus is King’ flags which have increasingly been displayed across the UK by anti-immigration, particularly anti-Muslim, activists, such as those at Tommy Robinson rallies.

Of these flags, he said: "Only God knows a person's heart.

"I certainly have no problem with that flag or that sentiment because as a preacher of the Gospel I believe that Christ is King and that salvation only comes through Christ."

Pastor Ahern added: "Absolutely there are far-right elements in every society, the same way as the far-left.

"As a Christian I can't identify with either one of those."

He said while there "may be some divisive elements seeking to use religion to further maybe a political agenda", there are nonetheless "legitimate concerns" about immigration, such as the safety of women, and people who hold them should not be "demonised".