Prime Minister promises an “iron fist” against Lod’s mob violence

The Lod police force was boosted by several Border Guard companies on Wednesday after a state of emergency was declared in the face of a local Arab mob rampage. Masked rioters torched three synagogues, many shops and dozens of cars. Jewish residents reported bottle bombs tossed through the windows of their homes, at least two motorists were injured by rock assaults on their cars, and  police had to escort residents leaving a community center.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu arrived in Lod during the night and denounced the outbreak as “anarchy.” He said: “We will restore law and order with an iron fist.” The Lod outbreak was one of chain of riots sweeping across dozens of mixed community cities in Israel in sympathy with Palestinian outbreaks in Jerusalem and clashes with the police.