As rockets and airstrikes have pummeled targets across Gaza and Israel, a different conflict has erupted in the streets of Arab neighborhoods and mixed Arab-Jewish towns across the state of Israel.
Palestinian citizens of Israel have rioted in several cities since Monday night, burning cars and Jewish-owned properties, as anger at the Gaza conflict, as well as at decades of discrimination dating back to the foundation of the state of Israel, found its expression in street violence.
In the central city of Lod, known in Arabic as Lydd, the government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday morning, after a synagogue, a school and several vehicles were torched by Arab rioters on Monday and Tuesday nights.
A Palestinian citizen, Moussa Hassouna, was shot dead by a Jewish resident during the disturbances on Monday night, and another wave of unrest followed his funeral 24 hours later.
Jewish communities have been built in Israel’s history, but only seven for Arabs. In the Negev, dozens of Bedouin towns have never been given planning permission, leading to the demolition of hundreds of structures there every year.