Clashes broke out in the Israeli city of Netanya between Jewish residents and Arab Israeli students living in a dorm there. The Jewish residents of Netanya allege that the Arab Israeli students disrupted a prayer service at Chabad synagogue by playing music loudly and throwing eggs at worshippers.
In the evening, hundreds of Jewish residents waving Israeli flags gathered outside the Netanya Academic College’s dorms. The Times of Israel reported some of the protesters chanted: “Death to Arabs.”
Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg issued a statement that said she had asked school administrators to clear the dorms and find those who allegedly disrupted the prayer service.
The scenes from the coastal city north of Tel Aviv come as tensions in Israel and the Middle East at large are sky-high following a brutal terrorist attack and subsequent declaration of war by Hamas.
READ MORE: Israel Hamas war ‘powder keg’ could ignite the Middle East with a ‘small spark’
In the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel, Jewish settlers and Palestinians have clashed since the latest outbreak of serious hostilities on October 7.
The building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is a contentious issue for Palestinians there and the UN’s International Court of Justice found them to be illegal under international law in 2004.
The Yesh Din organization, which opposes Israeli control in the West Bank, said last Monday that there had been more than 100 reported incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.
Inside Israel, Jews make up about 73 percent of the population with a significant Arab minority of around 21 percent.
The clashes come as Israel appeared to broaden its war against Hamas by sending a significant amount of troops into the Gaza Strip.
Israel stepped up bombardments overnight ahead of the assault which military and political leaders have said marks a new phase in the war.
