JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will use “an iron fist if needed” to stop widespread protests by Arab citizens that have resulted in injuries, arrests, and property damage.
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Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will “stop the anarchy” after deploying Border Police forces to calm unrest in recent days in the cities of Lod and Acre.
The mounting unrest comes after weeks of violence in Jerusalem and heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in recent days. The fighting is rooted in a long dispute over contested Jerusalem. After Hamas rained rockets inside Israel on Monday, the conflict suddenly erupted and increasingly resembles the 2014 Gaza war.
Netayahu says Israel will “stop the anarchy and restore governance to the cities of Israel, with an iron fist if needed, with all forces needed and all authorities required.”
The only people that the Israeli government is going to hit with an “iron fist” are Jews who defend themselves. Arresting someone for shooting an Arab rioter sent a clear message to the rioters that hey have nothing to fear.