A brawl between Arab and Jewish youths on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur in the town of Akko has led to some of the most intense inter-ethnic rioting in years, dpa reported relying on reports of Israeli media.
At least 10 people have been arrested, and numerous people were injured after police deployed tear gas against the demonstrators. On Thursday night, police had blocked all access roads into the city.
According to the Ha'aretz daily in its Thursday edition, the riots began when an Arab youth was harassed by a group of Israelis who claimed that the Arab youth was making too much noise with his car on the Jewish holy day.
According to the paper, the Arab driver said he was trying to get from Akko's old town to his home in the eastern part of the city.
The brawl quickly expanded into some of the heaviest Arab-Jewish violence seen in years, involving hundreds of people and heavily damaging vehicles and stores.
Israel typically comes to a standstill for Yom Kippur, with most establishments closing for the day. TV and radio interrupt their broadcasts and, aside from emergency vehicles, most cars stay off the streets.