Israel: Burnt Blackened Vehicles line Streets of Lod after Violent Unrest
Description
Rioting in the city of Lod led to the burning of vehicles and a synagogue overnight on Tuesday. Tensions were sparked in the city following the funeral of an Arab man who was killed by a suspected Israeli shooter. "We begged the police and the firefighters to come, it took them a long time to arrive, we felt alone, it took them time to respond, we know there were many incidents around here last night," commented Michel, a resident. A state of emergency has been declared in the city by the Israeli authorities as a result of the unrest. "I live here and I want the possibility to live calmly. This is a neighbourhood in central Israel, seven minutes from the airport and 20 minutes from Tel Aviv. I want to live calmly," said Ori, a resident whose two cars had burnt as a result of the unrest. The riots came as violence has erupted in recent days amid protests in East Jerusalem over possible evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Clashes that began at the Al-Aqsa compound escalated into an exchange of rockets between Hamas and Israel on Monday.