Israelis attack Arabs in central city of Lid

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - Dozens of Israelis on Thursday attacked Palestinian homes in the central Israeli city of Lid, according to eyewitnesses.

"Dozens of Israelis attacked Palestinian homes in Lid with some loading fuel into canisters to use them in attacks," eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency.

Channel 12, a local Israeli media outlet, also reported "clashes between Palestinians and Israelis" breaking out in the city, adding that authorities had imposed a curfew in the city and that the army had been deployed to contain the situation.

The report did not specify when the curfew would end.

Daily Yediot Aharonot reported that police lost control of the city following fierce clashes with Arab youth during a funeral procession for an Arab-Israeli resident killed by an Israeli settler.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem since last week when an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families. The decision was later postponed.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the neighborhood have been targeted by Israeli forces.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara