The Israel Police have declared a nighttime curfew on the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod following several days of violence.
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Police said in a statement on Wednesday that officers would enforce the ban on people entering the city of Lod, residents leaving their homes, and people in public spaces starting at 8 p.m. Sixteen Border Police companies have been deployed throughout the city to enforce the curfew and prevent violence. Channel 12 News police correspondent Moshe Nussbaum assessed the extra police contingent in the city at some 500 officers. The city has a population of approximately 76,000.
Lod has seen two nights of violent protests, including the torching of dozens of vehicles, a synagogue, and violent clashes between Arab protesters and police. Israeli authorities declared a state of emergency in the city.
On Tuesday, the government took the unusual step of declaring a civilian state of emergency in Lod, deploying Border Police to restore order in the area following unprecedented riots that saw synagogues, shops and dozens of cars set on fire.
Unrest was also noted in other mixed cities, but Lod appears to manifest the worst of it. Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai called the situation unprecedented.
"We are seeing a situation in mixed cities that we have never seen before, including the incidents of October 2000," he said, referring to the wave of riots that broke out among Arab Israelis in October 2000 – the early days of the Second Intifada.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed that a civilian state of emergency had to be announced in the city, effectively placed Lod under lockdown, with security forces at its gates to enforce it.
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