The state of Israel has declared a special state of emergency in the city of Lod in the center of the country following a second consecutive night of violent Muslim riots in the city.
Muslims rampaged through the city on Tuesday night, threw rocks and attacked Jews, set fire to dozens of cars, vandalized property, desecrated synagogues, and clashed with police forces, who had apparently lost control of the scene.
A 56-year-old Israeli was injured after being attacked by rock-throwing terrorists and was taken to a hospital in critical condition with a head injury. He is now on life support.
This was the second night in which the city experienced scenes residents described as similar to the Kristallnacht in 1938 in Nazi Germany and pogroms in Europe.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the immediate transfer of Border Police battalions from Judea and Samaria to Lod to help regain control of the city.
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana announced that he would exercise his authority on the matter immediately.
Netanyahu directed that the rioters “be dealt with severely and that units on the ground be reinforced in order to restore quiet and order to the city forthwith.”
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai announced that he has moved his office to the city.
Muslims rioted in dozens of other towns and cities throughout Israel, attacking Jews and Israeli targets in an apparent display of solidarity with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations, which have been bombarding Israel in the past 48 hours.
In Haifa, Arab rioters threw stones at police forces. 26 rioters were arrested.
In Acco, rioters vandalized a restaurant and set it on fire. A police station and a hotel were also set on fire in the city. At the hotel that was set on fire, a person was seriously injured as a result of the fire.
Terrorists fired fireworks at residents’ homes in the Meir Nakar neighborhood in Jerusalem. As a result of the shooting, a fire broke out and the residents extinguished it.
Police arrested an Arab suspected of assaulting police in Tel Aviv-Yafo during riots in the city.
The police arrested 151 rioters in the northern distrcit.
