While violence continues in the Judeo-Arab cities of the country, after the start of hostilities on Monday, the clash between the Jewish state and Hamas reverberates, Thursday, May 13, in the streets of Israel. In Lod in particular, a poor city near Tel Aviv, tension rose on Wednesday evening between young Arabs and groups of extremist Jews with clashes, burned cars, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
While traveling in this city, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened, during an address to the press, to deploy the soldiers of the IDF to restore order in the mixed towns.
“We have started the conscription of IDF reservists who recently finished their service and we will be able to use IDF soldiers as well. This has been done in other countries such as the United States, Great Britain, France and it has also been done in Israel, in particular for the management of the crisis linked to the coronavirus ”, did he declare. Hours later, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz confirmed the recall of some 9,000 reservists.
Netanyahu wants to “restore law and order”
“Our goal is to achieve quick results, to restore calm and security to the citizens of Israel and that begins and ends with the reinforcement of these soldiers. They received our support ”, said the Prime Minister again, alongside uniformed police officers.
“Everyone understands that this event [les affrontements à Lod] is not ordinary and that here are superimposed criminal actors and actors who defy the law and the framework of the Israeli state. The opportunity is given to them [aux forces de police] to use all means, […] do not be afraid “, he added. “There is no greater threat today than these riots, and it is essential to restore law and order by all these means”, he also summarized.
Water cannons, as well as administrative arrests, may also be part of the arsenal of police, supported in mixed towns by 1,000 members of the border police, deployed Thursday. Strict measures are already in place in Lod, where entry is limited after 5 p.m. and the town is placed under curfew from 8 p.m.
State of emergency declared in several cities
On Wednesday evening, the country accused the shock caused by the dissemination of images of the lynching of a man, considered Arab by his attackers, far-right activists near Tel Aviv. These excruciating images show a man being forced out of his car and then beaten up by a crowd of several dozen people, until he lost consciousness.
This violence had prompted the Prime Minister to declare ” emergency state ” in the city. “What has been happening in recent days in the cities of Israel is unbearable … Nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews and nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs”, he said, saying that Israel was facing a “Fighting on two fronts”.
Four days after the start of the clashes between Israel and Hamas, the military escalation continued on Thursday. The Israeli army continued its aerial bombardment campaign in Gaza after another night of violence. These raids left a total of 83 dead, including 17 children, and nearly 500 injured, according to Hamas. In Israel, seven people were killed, including a child and a soldier, and hundreds were injured by rocket fire.
On Thursday afternoon, Hamas claimed to have launched a new rocket with a range of 250 kilometers at Israel’s second Ramon airport, located near Eilat in southern Israel, and called air carriers to ” to suspend “ all their flights to the country. The Israeli authorities had rerouted, on Wednesday, all flights to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, to this second airport.
The UN meeting canceled, Macron “concerned”
Faced with the intensification of the conflict, a third emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, public this time and in the presence of Israel and the Palestinians, was to be held on Friday. Finally, a spokesperson for the Chinese presidency of the Council said Thursday evening that it would not take place, with diplomats saying the United States had opposed it.
For his part, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said to himself “Concerned about the escalation of violence in the Middle East” and “Determined to work with all parties to put an end to it as quickly as possible”.
In a statement, the Elysee said that the French president had spoken with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asking him in particular to use “Of all the means of his influence so that calm is restored as quickly as possible”. Mr. Macron is also due to meet with the Israeli prime minister soon.