Umm al-Fahm mayor: We will block rightist protestors with our bodies

The mayor of Umm al-Fahm, Sheikh Khaled Hamadan, said on Monday that if rightist protestors attempt to follow through with their plan to march through his city on Tuesday, residents would turn out in force to prevent the demonstration. "We are not seeking a confrontation with demonstrators or with the police. Our plan is to block the march with our bodies, in a serene and peaceful way," said Sheikh Hamadan at a local press conference.

Despite this, Hamadan warned that the street was "boiling over," and that, therefore, there could be spontaneous clashes.

The Umm al-Fahm council announced Saturday it would hold a general strike on Tuesday to protest at a far-rightist march scheduled to take place in the city that day. Businesses, schools, and state institutions will be closed.

MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) cautioned the police to bar armed demonstrators from entering the city. "These people will be carrying weapons, and they have a history of shooting at Palestinians. This is a real danger because it is enough for one youth to throw an apple [at protestors] in order for them to open fire under pretext of self defense."

MK Afou Agbaria (Hadash) also criticized the scheduled demonstration, calling on the Israeli left to the counter-demonstration planned for Tuesday.

Meretz and Peace Now have already announced that they will send activists to Umm al-Fahm Tuesday to support the local residents, who plan to block the entrances to the city as of Tuesday morning.

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.