The Mayor of the Israeli city of Lod Yair Revivo says he has asked the prime minister to declare a state of emergency in the Jewish-Arab city in central Israel. He called for the army to be deployed in the city, saying “it’s a very big problem for the police.”

“I called on the Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency in Lod. To call the IDF. To enforce a curfew. To restore peace. This is a gigantic incident — an Intifada of Arab Israelis. All the work we have done for years [on coexistence] has been destroyed.”

“All Of Israel needs to know that this is a complete loss of control… That’s inconceivable. Synagogues are burning. Hundreds of cars have been set on fire. Hundreds of Arab thugs roam the streets… Civil war broke out in Lod… The Orthodox-nationalist Jewish community here has guns. I beg them to go home, but they justifiably want to protect their homes. Petrol bombs are thrown at [Jewish] houses. The situation is incendiary.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered IDF battalions in Lod in central Israel, where there have been mass riots by Arab residents in the past 24 hours.