Thousands of people held mostly peaceful marches in northern Israel on Friday to commemorate the killing of two Israeli Arabs in clashes with Israeli soldiers 40 days ago, witnesses said.
Some 5,000 Israeli Arabs marched through the streets of the town of Umm el-Fahm in northern Israel, closing several roads and occasionally throwing stones at Jewish-owned cars.
The demonstrators carried Palestinian and black flags to mark the deaths of two Israeli Arabs killed in the clashes.
Marches were also held to mark the occasion in the village of Araba near the town of Karmel.
Twelve Israeli Arabs have been killed during the past six weeks of violence that has mainly been centered in the Palestinian territories and in which some 200 people have died, the majority of them Palestinians.
Israeli Arabs are Palestinians who live inside Israel's 1948 borders and have Israeli citizenship. They make up about 18 percent of the country's population -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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