Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire two weeks ago that ended 11 days of an Israeli military assault on Gaza and rockets from Gaza to Israel, but unrest in Jewish mixed cities continues -Palestines of Israel.
The town of Lydd (Lod in Hebrew) is nearby. Israeli security forces guard its streets, weeks after Palestinian protests took place in cities across Israel: from the desert of Naqab (Negev) in the south to Ramla, Yafa and Lydd in the center of the country, to the region of “Triangle” and in Haifa and Nazareth, in the north.
Protesters rallied in solidarity with Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, who are facing an imminent eviction from their homes, and against the Israeli assault on the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which injured hundreds of Palestinians. .
On May 10, the night of the latest fighting between Israel and Hamas, Mousa Hassouna, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was shot dead by an Israeli Jew living in Lydd, who played during a week of violence. and the city was put under a state of emergency.
Clashes broke out between harsh Jewish settlers and Palestinian citizens of Israel; the former attacked Palestinian citizens at home and on the street while riot police set fire to patrol cars, mosques, synagogues and houses.
Similar protests, driven by the grievances of Palestinian citizens for discrimination and lack of opportunities, quickly spread to other mixed areas across the country.
Palestinian citizens of Israel represent about 20 percent of the country’s population and are citizens with the right to vote. But they have long suffered from discrimination and their communities are often affected by crime, violence and poverty.
A 2018 report by the Israel Democracy Institute noted disparities in the representation of Palestinian citizens in mixed municipalities.
Despite having Israeli citizenship, advocacy groups have documented several dozen Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens on a wide range of issues, including education, housing, political participation, and due process. They are treated as second and third class citizens.
Although Palestinian citizens of Israel represent 30 percent of Lydd’s population, only 14 percent of municipal employees are Palestinian, with only four on the 19-member city council.
The city has not had a Palestinian citizen of Israel as deputy mayor in four decades, according to the report.
For years, Palestinian residents of Lydd have been complaining about institutional racism, which feeds marginalization and poverty.
