Jewish religious festival of Purim

A Jewish settler dressed as a clown walks past a concrete protective barricade on his way to an annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim in the divided West Bank town of Hebron Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

An ultra orthodox Jewish youth wearing a huge hat and costume for Purim poses for a photo outside a synagogue in Bney Brak Photograph: Pavel Wolberg/EPA

An Israeli family attends a parade to celebrate Purim in Holon, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

A Jewish settler costumed as a clown takes part in a parade celebrating the holiday of Purim in the West Bank city of Hebron Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters

Ultra orthodox Jews belonging to the Vishnitz Hassidic sect gather around their Rabbi as they celebrate the Purim in Bnei Brak, a religious town near Tel Aviv Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

A Jewish settler is pushed in his wheelchair up a hill during an annual Purim parade in Hebron Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

Jewish settlers, one dressed as an Arab and the other as a Jewish settler with a M-16 assault riifle, shake hands and embrace near a security tower in the center of the Hebron Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA

Israeli youth dressed as mimes stare at Israeli soldiers standing guard during a parade Photograph: David Furst/AFP/Getty Images

Jewish settlers take part in a parade celebrating Purim Photograph: Baz Ratner/REUTERS

A young Jewish settler dressed as a clown holds a balloon as he watches an annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim next to two soldiers standing guard in Hebron Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

Ultra orthodox Jews belonging to the Vishnitz Hassidic sect dance on their benches as they celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim in Bnei Brak, a religious town near Tel Aviv Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

A young ultra orthodox Jewish boy in Purim fancy dress waves his rattle during the reading of the Scroll of Esther in the Vishnitz Chassidic synagogue in Bnei Brak, a religious town near Tel Aviv in central Israel Photograph: David Silverman/Getty Images

An Israeli soldier prevents the passage of Palestinian school children watching Israelis parade in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim (not seen) in the West Bank city of Hebron. Under heavy army protection, approximately 200 Israelis paraded in costume through the predominantly Palestinian city to celebrate Purim. With more than 170,000 Palestinian residents, Hebron has long been a flashpoint because of a settler enclave of around 600 hardline Jews in the heart of the city, and a further 6,500 settlers living in Kiryat Arba on the outskirts Photograph: David Furst/AFP/Getty Images