In Israeli cities there were clashes of the Arabs with the Jews - the largest over many years

The Minister of Defense of Israel said that the conflict within the country is no less dangerous than the confrontation with Hamas

A few days after the aggravation of the conflict with Hamas , on the night of May 13, the most serious riots and the largest clashes between the Arab and Jewish population within the country over many years occurred in Israel, and the largest Israeli media state .

According to the Israeli police, which is given by YnetNews, at least 374 people were arrested during the night riots on May 12-13, many of the detainees-adolescents aged 13 years. 36 policemen received slight injuries.

The first large-scale clashes began on May 11 in the city of Lod (located 20 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv). Here, the Arabs set fire to synagogues, shops and cars, writes Times of Israel. After that, judging by reports on social networks, several dozen young Jews came to the Lod from other cities and entered into clashes with the Arabs, reports The Jerusalem Post. According to the publication, Israeli ultra -right also participated in the clashes.

The mayor of Lode Yair Revivo said that the control of the city was lost, after which they introduced a commandant hour. As of May 13, at least 20 people were injured in Lod, including a 33-year-old pregnant Arab woman who was injured in her head (she was taken to a hospital, where birth was held safely, Ynetnews writes). In another case, an Arab resident hit a Jew with a knife - he was hospitalized in serious condition, reports Times of ISRAEL.

On May 12-13, riots and clashes began in other large cities and settlements of the country-Jerusalem, Haifa, Tver, Akko, Umm-El-Fakhma, Bat Yama, Jaffa, Jisr-A-Zarka, Vadi, Hader and Beer-Shevhe.

In Tamra, a Jewish man was wounded by a knife, and the Arabic paramedic ambulance, who arrived at the place, said that the attackers almost burned the wounded in his car before he was evacuated to a safe place, writes Times of Israel. In Jerusalem, they seriously wounded a knife of the Arab townspeople, and in the city of Akko a crowd of Arabs attacked a Jewish man who beat him with stones and iron rods, after which he was hospitalized in critical condition. Here, the Arabs set fire to a hotel in the old city; The fire spread to the nearby building. Akko municipality said the police and fire rescue services could not enter the old city and normalize the situation, writes Ynetnews.

In Bat Yam, hundreds of Israeli farmers went through a spontaneous march along the embankment, attacking Arab institutions and chanting "Death to the Arabs!" After that, the crowd attacked the Arab driver who tried to hide, but he was pulled out of the car and greatly beaten, according to The Jerusalem Post and Haareets . He is hospitalized, his condition remains serious. Later, the mayor of Baty Yama Zvik Brot stated that the action "was organized by provocateurs who arrived from the city."

In Haifa, the 20-year-old Arab driver also found himself among the crowd chanting “Death to the Arabs!”, Times of Israel writes. When he was thrown with stones, the driver turned the car to hide, while knocking one of the participants in the riots, who received injuries of moderate severity. As a result, the Arab driver left, but was later detained by the police. The marches of Israeli nationalists, according to the publication, were also held in Tiberia and ACCO.

Finally, on May 13, about 100 thousand Palestinians gathered on the temple mountain for prayer on the day of the Holy month of Ramadan. Many of them chanted “God, give the victory of Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and posters, notes The Jerusalem Post. Nearby, large banners were posted with the image of the leaders of Palestinian militants from the gas sector.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in which he called the clashes of the Arabs and Jews “unacceptable”. “It doesn’t care if your blood boils, even if it boils. It doesn't matter. You cannot take the law into your own hands, ”said the Israeli Prime Minister. - You cannot approach the Arab citizen [Israel] and try to attack him. It is also unacceptable when Arab citizens do this with Jewish citizens. This will not happen. "

Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Ganz added that the internal conflict flared up in Israel is no less dangerous than Hamas. " To normalize the situation, the Ministry of Defense attracted ten companies of reservists of the militarized border police of Israel. At the same time, the head of the ministry said, not a single soldier of the Israeli army will participate in the suppression of the riots, since this "is not part of the mission of the IDF [the Israeli Defense Army] as a People’s Army."

As Times of ISRAEL notes , the persistent demand of Minister of the Ganz not to send the army to the streets directly contradicts the approach of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced that he intends to send the military to cities to restore order.

Peter Lokhov