Riots in the north of the country and in Jerusalem: stones, Molotov cocktails and injuries

July 5, 2014   

Violent protest following the murder of the Arab boy in Shuafat: The riots in the Arab sector, which broke out yesterday (Saturday) in the cities of the Triangle in protest over the murder of the teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir in Shuafat, East Jerusalem, this week, continued tonight and this morning in various locations across the country.

During the night and morning hours, Arab riots were recorded in Jerusalem, the north of the country, and the Triangle region - during which one woman was slightly injured and several people were arrested.

לעבר משאית שהובילה מוצרי חלב בבסמת טבעון שבצפון הושלכו אבנים. נגרם נזק קל לרכב, והנהג המשיך בנסיעה למרות התקרית. המשטרה מחפשת אחר חשודים במעשה. הלילה טופלו בבית החולים העמק בעפולה שלושה פצועים קל, תושבי נצרת עילית ועפולה. בסך הכל נעצרו במהומות בצפון 22 בני אדם, רובם בעיר נצרת. ברחוב החנקה בעיר העתיקה בירושלים הותקפה סמוך לשעה 01:00 אישה יהודייה על ידי ערבים ונפצעה באורח קל. בעלה, שהיה חמוש, פתח באש והבריח את התוקפים שנמלטו מהמקום. כוחות משטרה פתחו בחיפושים אחר החשודים. רעולי פנים ערבים תקפו במוצאי שבת רכב יהודי שנסע באזור שכונת מעלה הזיתים במזרח ירושלים. בעל הרכב סיפר לערוץ 7, כי הרכב נקלע לציר בו פחי אשפה בערו כשלפתע הגיחו רעולי פנים ערבים ותקפו את המשפחה. "היה לנו נס גדול. אנחנו מתקשים לעכל את רגעי האימה האלה", סיפר. נהג הרכב הצליח להימלט מהמקום. הרכב נפגע, אך לא היו נפגעים. בתוך כך הלילה דווח על בקבוק תבערה שהושלך בשכונת גילה בירושלים. לא היו נפגעים. נהגים דיווחו על זריקות אבנים מכיוון שכונת בית צפפא לעבר כלי רכב שעשו דרכם לשכונת גילה. Riots were also reported in the cities of the Triangle. Nine rioters, including a minor, were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones and unlawful assembly in Taiba, Qalanswa, and Tira. They will be brought in later today for an extension of their detention. A bus en route from Meron to Jerusalem was hit by stones while traveling near the Yokneam intersection. One of the passengers was slightly injured.

In the North: A soldier was evacuated in moderate condition.

The riots by Israeli Arabs began on Saturday, when hundreds of rioters rioted in the communities of the Triangle – Qalanswa and Tayyiba, in Arara in Wadi Ara, in Nazareth and also in Jerusalem. In Umm al-Fahm, dozens of masked young men rioted and threw stones at the police.

In the afternoon, about 150 Arabs demonstrated in Nazareth on Paulus Boulevard and on Garage Street near the Tunnels Road. The demonstrators carried signs denouncing the state and Palestinian flags, threw stones at police officers and burned tires. The police arrested a demonstrator and used riot police against the rioters. At the entrance to the city of Qalanswa, hundreds demonstrated, and some fired fireworks at security forces. Sharon Region police dispersed them with tear gas.

 At the entrance to the village of Arara, dozens of young people gathered and burned tires. Police forces arrived at the scene, and due to the disorder that prevailed there, Highway 65 was blocked for several minutes. During the events in Arara, a female police officer and the head of the Northern District Commander's office were injured.

Clashes also occurred during the Sabbath night in the triangle at the entrance to the cities of Taiba, Tira, and Qalanswa. The riots in Qalanswa occurred on Highway 5614 at the entrance to the city, and stones were thrown at police officers and Jewish drivers.

During the riots, masked men attacked a 20-year-old IDF soldier and he was taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba in moderate condition.

The head of the Arara council said that the residents are expressing their anger at the situation they have found themselves in: "The residents of Arara are afraid to travel to Hadera, Haifa and Netanya because they feel threatened because they are Arabs. My son, 11 years old, is afraid to leave the house alone because of what happened in Shuafat. I have no doubt that this is a nationalist event." .

A bus attacked on the way from Meron

The riots in Jerusalem: stones, Molotov cocktails and injuries

The riots in Jerusalem also resumed in the evening. In the Umm Tuba neighborhood in the east of the city, about 50 young people clashed with police forces, throwing stones and setting off fireworks. The police dispersed them using riot police.

בנוסף דווח על שלושה צוותי כיבוי שהוזעקו הלילה לכיבוי שריפת חורש וצמחייה שפרצה ליד מנזר מר אליאס, בסמוך לשכונת הר חומה בירושלים. השריפה פרצה ככל הנראה מבקבוק תבערה. שלשה צוותי כיבוי של מכבי אש פועלים במקום כדי לכבות את האש. 200 צעירים ערבים נהדפו לתוך שועפט לאחר שהשתתפו במהומות. בשכונת אנטוניה בעיר העתיקה יידו כמה צעירים אבנים וירו זיקוקים, כוחות המשטרה פיזרו אותם תוך שימוש באמצעים לפיזור הפגנות.

 Meanwhile, about 200 people are participating in riots in the village of Sharafat near the capital, and a police force is working to disperse them.

Clashes that also resulted in injuries occurred in northern Jerusalem at the entrance to the Geva settlement. Two bus drivers, both in their 30s, were treated by MDA paramedics after being injured in the hand and eye. Two additional people were slightly injured near the al-Za'im checkpoint in the Jerusalem area, following stones being thrown at an Egged bus.

Stones were also thrown at a bus traveling through the Mount Scopus Tunnel, and the driver and two passengers were slightly injured.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown on Dov Yosef Road in the city that did not ignite. The police have launched a search for those responsible for the acts.

 Aharonovitz: No third intifada

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitz visited the police station in Eiron and said: "The majority of the Arab public in Israel is not lawbreakers. But we will not allow stone-throwing and tire burning on Highway 65, which is a main highway in the State of Israel. Citizens who call for the kidnapping of boys and soldiers at the Umm al-Fahm junction should be brought to justice." Aharonovitz emphasized that "we are not in the days of a third intifada and there is no loss of control over the situation.".

Police today called on Arab sector leaders to exercise restraint and uphold the law. "Any expression of legitimate protest will be allowed, but disturbances and displays of violence will be met with a firm hand.".

Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis, who liaises between the government and the Knesset: "There is a direct and unbreakable connection between the conduct of Arab Knesset members, who make good use of democratic tools and their parliamentary immunity to harm the State of Israel, and the incitement and riots in the Arab sector against the state.".