Israeli police clash with protestors
Israeli police clashed with protesters in an Arab town in northern Israel today ahead of a march by Jewish extremists.
Hundreds of police were drafted into Umm el-Fahm after Israel’s Supreme Court gave permission for the ultra-nationalist Jewish activists to march through the town.
The Jewish extremists are admirers of the late Meir Kahane, a US-born rabbi who preached that Palestinians should be expelled from Israel and the West Bank.
Some of the roughly 350 Israeli Arabs who had gathered along the scheduled march route mistakenly thought the rally had begun and started throwing rocks at police.
Police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and stun grenades. Several people have been arrested, though no serious injuries have been reported.
