Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya on Tuesday urged Palestinians in the West Bank to "rise up" against Israel over a plan to restore two holy sites in the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked the Palestinians' outrage on Sunday when he said he hoped to include Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron in a national heritage plan.
"The decision requires a real response in the West Bank and for the people to rise up in the face of the Israeli occupation and to break every shackle in confronting it," Haniya was quoted as saying by AFP. "(The project) aims to erase our identity, alter our Islamic monuments and steal our history," he added.
For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Tuesday in Brussels of a "religious war" following Israel's decision. In his speech, Abbas told the Belgian parliament that the Israeli decision was "a serious provocation, which can lead to a religious war."
In Hebron, there was sporadic stone throwing from Palestinian youths near the Ibrahimi mosque above the Tomb of the Patriarchs but there were no reports of anyone being wounded.
Meanwhile in Bethlehem shops and schools were closed in a day-long general strike and youth set tyres on fire in some areas, AFP said.
