Flotilla protests: 4 wounded including 2 police officers.
By JPOST.COM STAFF311_Gaza flotilla flag(photo credit: Associated Press)
Dozens of youths were rioting in Wadi Ara on Monday evening, in response to the flotilla deaths earlier in the day. Police arrested six rioters, and four were wounded during resulting scuffles.Dozens of young rioters blocked the entrance to Umm el-Fahm on Monday in response to the death of international activists on board the Gaza flotilla.Police in riot gear were present although they mainly worked to keep the highway open.RELATED:Wadi Ara Jews and Arabs protest against planned haredi cityBarak: Flotilla organizers to blame for 15 dead activistsEarlier, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held anti-Israel placards in solidarity with the international aid activists who were killed in the storming of the "Free Gaza" flotilla.Youths wielding stones were also reported to have attacked the Nazareth police station.Tensions were very high in the morning following reports that the head of the Northern Section of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raad Salah who was in the flotilla, had been killed, however the reports proved to be false.Police prepared for troubleThe IDF and police prepared for the possibility of violence as Israeli Arab leaders called for a general strike on Monday in the wake of reports that 15 protesters were announced dead among the "Free Gaza" flotilla.Arab MKs call for general strikeMK Jamal Zahalka (Balad), whose party member Haneen Zuabi was reportedly detained after being on board one of the vessels, called for a general strike and protests throughout Israel on Monday and Tuesday, saying that a “massacre was carried out on the boats” in the operation that was planned weeks in advance, whose “results were not a matter of chance.”“[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu and [Defense Minister Ehud] Barak gave instructions to prevent the ships’ entrance at any price,” Zahalka said. “This morning it became clear what that price was.”The Israeli lawmaker continued to say that this was a “war crime and pirate operation, commanded over by the pirate captains Netanyahu and Barak” and called on both to either resign or to be prosecuted in an international court.Knessset speaker calls for restraintMeanwhile, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin called on Israeli Arabs to maintain restraint and not to be drawn into provocations.“We are all a unified front against continuing the conflict between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East,” Rivlin said.Northern District police chief Cmdr. Shimon Koren completed a security evaluation in the North on Monday morning, and ordered a high state of alert as well as instructed police officers to be ready "for the possibility of any scenario or attempt to cause a disturbance."He called for restraint in the northern district, home to a large number of Arab Israelis.Demonstrations at University of Haifa and in West BankHundreds of Arab students at the University of Haifa also demonstrated Monday afternoon against the IDF assault on the flotilla.The demonstrators were met by a smaller counter-demonstration of Jewish students supporting the IDF's actions.Police were called by the university administration to establish order during the unapproved event. One of the police officers was lightly injured in the confrontation and one of the protesters was arrested.In the West Bank, dozens of Palestinian protesters gathered at the Kalandia checkpoint to show solidarity with the international activists killed in the IDF raid.Demonstrations are expected to continue Israeli and the Palestinian territories throughout the day.
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