Violent protests erupted as thousands of Druze went to the site of Israel's largest renewable energy project on Wednesday. The demonstrations were against the construction of a wind turbine farm in the Golan Heights.
The protestors threw stones, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at the police, endangering the lives of law enforcement officers, according to an Israeli police statement. One of the rioters, who apparently tried to attack the policeman with a pointed object, was slightly wounded in the leg.
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Police had to call upon the border guards in order to secure the scene, and the security forces reacted by using riot dispersal methods. One of the policemen even fired live ammunition as a group of masked men armed with stones approached him.
Druze community leaders were called upon, asked to respect the legal procedure for building the wind turbines and to calm the heated tempers. The Israeli authorities also urged people not to spread false information on social networks about the alleged destruction of vegetation.
In its statement, the police expressed the hope that the Druze community, which is "at the heart of Israeli society" and has always been "a model of respect for the law", would preserve its line of conduct and good relations with the rest of the country.
Video: Scuffles between Druze Arabs and Israeli forces in Golan Heights / Israel Police
The Energix Renewable Energies company announced, in June, the groundbreaking of Israel's largest renewable energy project in the Golan Heights. The Genesis Wind project would comprise 39 General Electric wind turbines, at a cost of $350 million.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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