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Israelis gather at disputed West Bank holy site
Ultranationalist Israelis flocked to a disputed, volatile holy site in the divided West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, laying their claim while also denouncing the policies of President Barack Obama toward Israel.
Some 10,000 Israelis, heavily guarded by the Israeli military, put on a carnival-like gathering at the Cave of the Patriachs, revered by both faiths, with cotton candy and pony rides. The demonstration coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover. Palestinians were kept away from the site.
In the only reported incident of violence, Palestinians threw rocks at an Israeli bus which mistakenly drove through a Palestinian neighborhood in the city, slightly injuring a woman passenger, the military said.
Hebron is one of the most volatile places in the West Bank. About 165,000 Palestinians live in the city, but Israeli soldiers control parts of the center, where about 400 Israeli settlers live in buildings that belonged to Jews before they were driven out of Hebron more than 70 years ago.