Police arrested six Jewish suspects who allegedly assaulted an Arab man and threw stones at vehicles on Sunday, while racial tensions in Jerusalem continued to subside.
Several witnesses told the daily Haaretz that the suspects approached passers-by in central Jerusalem, asking them questions to discern the respondents’ accent. Those with an Arabic accent were attacked by the crowd.
Filming uploaded to social media showed dozens of young Jews near the Jaffa tram stop chanting the “death of the Arabs”, with several Israeli flags waving.
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“I went to a bar and saw a group of 60 guys shouting, ‘A Jew is a good soul, an Arab is a son of a bitch! “They were looking for someone with an Arabic accent,” Yuval Avraham told Haaretz. “I followed them as they descended on Jaffa Street. There were no police officers on them at the time. They were looking for Arabs, and suddenly one of them shouted, “There’s an Arab there!” Everyone started running after the guy. Then a police car arrived and several officers chased after them. ”
Jerusalem, 2014 is again. “Death of the Arabs” in the city center. Police arrested 6 young Jews suspected of assaulting Arab passers-by. pic.twitter.com/aYPBngSGaO
Nir Hasson Nir Hasson (@nirhasson) April 19, 2021
Monday’s events come against the backdrop of a handful of videos uploaded to social media by Palestinians in East Jerusalem, in which ultra-Orthodox and religious Jewish passers-by can be seen striking. The videos, uploaded mainly on the TikTok social network, evoked widespread condemnation by both Jewish and Arab parliamentarians.
In the latest documented incident on Monday night, a Haredi teenager could be seen riding a bicycle near the IDF Square in central Jerusalem, when three young Arabs approached him and hit him repeatedly before fleeing.
This video was filmed tonight in IDF Square in Jerusalem, in front of police officers. A group of Arabs jump on a young Jew, without fear of the heart of Jerusalem, something bad is happening here pic.twitter.com/Z35VDtmZlN
– Haim Goldberg (@haim_goldberg) April 19, 2021
Jerusalem has also seen regular clashes in the past week between Palestinian residents and police who have blocked Palestinians from standing on the stairs of the Damascus Gate. In an unofficial tradition of Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians stay in the area after night prayers during Ramadan.
Police deployed water cannons and stun grenades to disperse the crowds, while rioters threw stones and threw fireworks at police officers.
The Islamic Holy Moon has long been a hotbed for violence between young Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
