A grand rally was held in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Saturday to mark the 11th anniversary of the assassination of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, local press reported on Sunday.

According to police estimation, about 100,000 people attended the rally.

Addressing the rally, Israeli author David Grossman called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to talk to the Palestinians about " their deep wounds and their grief."

Encouraging Olmert to "understand their ongoing suffering," he said that doing so will in no way diminish your or Israel's status in future negotiations.

"The crisis Israel is facing is much deeper than we feared, in almost every respect," Grossman, whose son was killed during the war in Lebanon, said that the deaths of young people are a terrible, screaming waste, but no less terrible is the feeling that, for many years, the State of Israel is wasting not only the lives of her sons, but also the opportunity to create an enlightened and democratic nation here.

The memorial for Yitzhak Rabin has been held in the square every year since his assassination in 1995, but unlike previous rallies, this year's memorial did not include any politicians among its speakers.

According to one of organizers of the rally, the decision was not to exclude politicians, but to change the format, as politicians invited to speak at recent memorials used their address to promote themselves.

Peace groups also raised their voices against the current siege and military operation on the Gaza strip by distributing black balloons with the words "SOS Gaza."

A young student in the rally told Xinhua that Rabin had become a symbol of justice and peace among his schoolmates. "We will fight for peace, we are fighting for peace," he quoted Rabin as saying.

Source: Xinhua