“We are in a struggle on multiple fronts,” Netanyahu said on a visit to Acre. “Last night, after the discussions and decisions at the Defense Ministry about the Gaza Strip, I went to Lod at 2 a.m., another front that opened up with anarchy."
Netanyahu pointed to the extra police and Border Patrol officers sent with emergency powers to Lod and Acre following the violence, and said the government will continue efforts to “stop the anarchy and bring back the rule of law to Israel’s cities with an iron fist if need be, with all the forces and authority necessary.”
The prime minister called the rioting “intolerable” and “recalls visions from the past,” a possible reference to pogroms or even Kristallnacht, as Lod’s Mayor Yair Ravivo said after a synagogue in the city was ransacked.
“We cannot accept that – certainly not in our state,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also called on Arab leaders to condemn the violence and act to stop it, saying that Israelis are proud of coexistence and will not let others harm it.
“We will bring the cities back on track for integration, success and taking part in the Israeli wonder,” he stated. “Whoever thinks they can roll us back will not succeed.”
The government declared a state of emergency in Lod on Tuesday night, with the deployment of Border Police units to try to quell the violence that saw the burning of three synagogues and dozens of cars. At least two people were injured and were in serious condition from the clashes, including from rock-throwing.
During the course of the violent riots throughout the city, the Maoz Yeshiva in the mixed Jewish-Arab Ramat Eshkol neighborhood was firebombed, causing massive damage to one classroom and lesser damage to another, as well as superficial damage to the façade of the building. In addition, a synagogue was set on fire, as well as numerous cars belonging to Jewish residents.
Some 25 residents Lod and neighboring Ramle were arrested on Tuesday night, according to a police spokesperson, and 151 were arrested in total within the central-northern district of Israel.
In Acre, another mixed Arab-Jewish city in northern Israel, an 84-year-old man was seriously hurt when a restaurant was set on fire by rioters.
Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai commented on the violence seen in Lod late Tuesday night: "We have not seen this kind of violence since October 2000," he said, in reference to Arab riots that took place at the beginning of what would later become the Second Intifada.
Shabtai said that he was moving his office to Lod until the anarchy there settled down.
In Acre, Uri Buri, a popular Jewish-owned fish restaurant was set ablaze. Footage aired by Channel 12 showed the restaurant's exterior blacked and burned, and its windows smashed.
In Jaffa, Arab protesters clashed with police, who fired stun grenades to disperse them.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.