The event was organized by the group dubbed Women Wage Peace, which also includes women that have been personally affected by the decades-long violence between Arabs and Jews in Palestine.

"We are women from the right, the left, Jews and Arabs, from the cities and the periphery and we have decided that we will stop the next war," said one of the founders, Marilyn Smadja.

Several thousand, mostly Israeli women arrived in Jerusalem late on Sunday. They were dressed in white and carried placards calling for peace.

"Israeli women want to prevent the next war if possible and try as soon as possible to reach an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians," said Smadja.

Her fellow organizer, Huda Abuarquob, a Palestinian from Hebron in the occupied West Bank, said: "This march is not just another protest, but a way of saying that we want peace, and together we can obtain it."