Israeli president called Lod protesters 'bloodthirsty Arab mob'

The Israeli government has been taking a hardline stance on Palestinian citizens of Israel, especially in the mixed Jewish-Palestinian town of Lod south of Tel Aviv, where Palestinians have taken to the streets in solidarity with Jerusalem and Gaza.

Confrontations erupted overnight in Lod between Palestinians and Jewish-Israelis in Lod, with cars and buildings burnt, and at least one synagogue torched. 

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called the events on Tuesday in Lod a “pogrom” carried out by "a bloodthirsty Arab mob".

Israeli security officials have said they reassigned 16 border police battalions from the occupied West Bank to Lod and other towns in Israel, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a “state of emergency” in Lod.

Palestinian citizens of Israel constitute around 20 percent of the country’s population, and are subjected to a number of discriminatory laws compared to Jewish-Israelis. Palestinian-majority towns and villages have long complained of being neglected and underserved by the state.