JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of Jewish settlers and their supporters marched in the West Bank.
Marchers started out Tuesday evening from the West Bank settlement of Itamar toward the Palestinian city of Nablus. The march started from the Fogel home, where five members of the family were killed in a terrorist attack by two Palestinians in March.
Palestinians also reportedly began marching toward Itamar.
Jewish marchers also started out from Beit El, toward the Israeli military’s Coordination and Liaison Administration. Dozens of right-wing protesters also marched down Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.
Also in Tel Aviv, pro-Palestinian protesters, including lawmakers from Arab-Israeli political parties, demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy, calling on the Obama administration to refrain from using its veto in the U.N. Security Council to halt the Palestinians’ statehood bid.
Also Tuesday, more than 100 Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli security forces near Bethlehem, Israel Hayom reported.
Meanwhile, Palestinian activists and officials are hoping to draw tens of thousands of Palestinians for a rally Wednesday in Ramallah in support of their statehood bid at the United Nations. The rally will begin with a march from the tomb of PLO leader Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian schools are set to close Wednesday to allow the students to join the protests, according to reports.
On the eve of his departure to New York to speak before the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel must "maintain what is ours while dealing with the challenges from the region."
"It’s important to go there and tell our truth as a people who want peace and have been attacked so many times," he said.
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