Palestinians clash with troops in West Bank as settlers march to former settlement
Thousands of nationalists hold march to West Bank outpost Homesh
Right-wing Israelis are holding a march to the illegal West Bank outpost of Homesh under heavy security from the Israel Defense Forces.
Among the marchers are senior nationalist politicians, including Religious Zionism party head Bezalel Smotrich and Yamina MK Idit Silman, who was coalition whip until aligning with the opposition earlier this month.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, center, leads a march to Homesh alongside MKs Itamar Ben Gvir, right, and Bezlel Smotrich, left. (Samaria Regional Council)
The march is being held despite the fact that the army had warned organizers that it would not be able to secure the event, which is set to start at the Shavei Shomron settlement at 11 a.m. and run along 14 kilometers (some 8.5 miles) past several Palestinian villages.
Organizer Bareleh Kromby earlier told Radio 103 FM that they had reached a deal with the army to shorten the route by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles).
Organizers had planned for thousands at the event and claim 20,000 are there.
Video from the march shows hundreds making their way along the route to Homesh, which was evacuated in 2005, but which settlers regularly return to.
A deadly terror shooting near there last year led the government to commit to issuing permits for a makeshift yeshiva that has been operating at the site, though settlers say that has yet to happen.