Umm al-Fahm announces general strike over far-right march set for Tuesday

The Umm al-Fahm council announced Saturday it would hold a general strike on Tuesday in protest at a far-rightist march scheduled to take place in the city on the same day.

Council member Raja Agbaria told Haaretz that "they (the far-right) are aggravating, so we will also aggravate," adding that "the strike is a step against the racism of the Zionist establishment."

Israel Police on Thursday notified far-rightists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir that they will be permitted to march through the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm next Tuesday, with thousands of police officers securing the march.

The High Court of Justice ruled two months ago that the march could go ahead within a month and a half of Israel's parliamentary elections, which took place on February 10.

The ruling came after extremists Marzel and Ben-Gvir petitioned the court last December when police decided to delay the demonstration until further notice.