More than 20,000 persons, including recently arrived immigrants from the Soviet Union, began a 20-mile two-day march through the West Bank today organized by the Gush Emunim movement. The march began at dawn at Beit-El in the Samarian hills and will end tomorrow at Jericho, near the Dead Sea southeast of Jerusalem. The marchers will camp for the night on a hillside in Samaria.
While no incidents occurred along the line of march today, Israeli troops used tear gas to break up protest demonstrations in Nablus where Arab youths set up stone barricades and burned rubber tires. Posters denouncing the march were plastered all over Nablus. Arabs in Ramallah and El-Bireh, north of Jerusalem, staged a silent counter-march in protest.
OPPOSED BY MANY ISRAELIS
The march was also opposed by many Israelis who regard the militant Orthodox nationalist group as a source of provocation and an embarrassment to the government for defying its edicts against unauthorized settlement on the West Bank. The Gush Emunim insists that the West Bank belongs to Israel by divine right and includes it in what they call “Eretz Israel.”
The marchers handed out leaflets proclaiming “the inalienable right” of Jews to settle anywhere in “Eretz Israel.” Rabbi Moshe Levinger the Gush leader from Kiryat Arba near Hebron, told reporters today that “the whole of Eretz Israel belongs to the Jewish people and I think we should continue to build settlements here.” Levinger is facing court charges for inciting Kiryat Arba Jews to “shoot to kill” if they were menaced by Arabs during disturbances in Hebron last month. He also spoke belligerently of “keeping the Arabs in their place.”
Although most of the Cabinet opposed today’s march, it was supported by Defense Minister Shimon Peres. The government gave its, approval on condition that the marchers promised to avoid populated areas so as not to provoke West Bank Arabs. Nevertheless. Israeli soldiers cordoned off the route of march to protect the marchers and prevent incidents along the way.
RAMALLAH QUIET AFTER DISTURBANCES
Meanwhile, Ramallah on the West Bank was reported quiet today after two days of disturbances in which a six-year-old Arab boy was accidentally killed by an Israeli soldier and a 42-year-old man was slain, allegedly by a defeated candidate in last Monday’s municipal elections. The boy, Jamil Hamis El Jum, died in a Jerusalem hospital last night. He was killed when a rioter tried to wrest a rifle away from an Israeli soldier causing the weapon to fire.
The other victim, Khalil Issa, was fatally wounded Friday, allegedly by Abdul Nur Janho who lost his bid for a town council seat in the April 12 elections. Janho, who has a record of violence dating back to a Jerusalem post office explosion in 1945, was taken into custody along with his son and two other members of his family. They reportedly face manslaughter charges.
The Ramallah disturbances stemmed from an election dispute among the local politicians. After Issa was killed, townspeople demonstrated against Janho, who was a member of the opposition defeated by the nationalist slate headed by incumbent Mayor Karim Khalif. When the crowds threatened to become violent yesterday, Israeli soldiers and police were called in to restore order. Some of the demonstrators stoned the Israeli forces and wrestled with them.
The shot that proved fatal for Jamil Hamis was fired during the melee. Israeli forces were withdrawn shortly afterwards at the request of the local authorities who promised to maintain order. Khalif and some of his councilmen dispersed the demonstrators. Israeli forces remained outside the town today prepared for a possible renewal of the disturbances when the boy’s funeral was held.
The funeral took place without incident. Earlier however, Israeli border police riding half tracks, fired into the air to disperse crowds of Arab youths on Ramallah’s main street before a demonstration could get underway. The situation in Ramallah apparently had no effects on the Gush Emunim march.
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