Dozens of Palestinian protesters took to the streets of Jaffa on Wednesday clashing with Israeli police forces in a second night of demonstrations against a plan to build a homeless shelter for Jews on the land of an ancient Muslim cemetery.
The angry protesters reportedly set trash cans on fire and threw stones at officers who arrested four people according to the Hebrew media.
A video broadcast by Israeli satellite channels showed a Tel Aviv city bus with shattered windows stopped by the side of the road and police forces firing stun and tear gas grenades to disperse the angry protesters near Jaffa’s famous clock tower.
Some reports said the violent events started when police officers blocked the marchers and used force to disperse them.
Bulldozers escorted by police forces on Monday evening began digging up graves in the cemetery which is known by the native citizens as the “Is’aaf” graveyard. It dates back to the Ottoman era.
Prior to the creation of Israel on the historic land of Palestine Jaffa was a predominantly Palestinian Arab city.
Most of its Palestinian residents were forcibly expelled by Zionist militias in the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) when the Britain-backed Zionist movement started its occupation of Palestine.
Today around 16000 Palestinian natives who hold Israeli citizenship still live in Jaffa which today has about 30000 Jewish residents.
Jaffa was annexed by Israel to Tel Aviv in 1950. Like most of the Muslim religious mortmain property (waqf) the Is’aaf cemetery was placed under the control of the Israel land authority and the Palestinians in Israel are unable to get back Islamic mortmain land appropriated by the Israeli government.
