In mass rally, Israeli settlers march to West Bank outpost

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israelis led by at least seven Cabinet ministers marched to an evacuated West Bank settlement. It was a defiant signal that Israel’s most right-wing government in history is determined to accelerate settlement building on occupied lands despite international opposition. The mass rally also threatened to further raise tensions that have been heightened by days of unrest across the region over a contested Jerusalem holy site. In new violence on Monday, Israel troops killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in the occupied West Bank, while a 48-year-old Israeli woman died from wounds sustained in a shooting last week. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir spoke at the march, saying “we are here and will remain here.”