Clashes broke out between law enforcement and protesters in Jaffa, The Jerusalem Post's sister publication, Maariv, reported Friday.
Demonstrators reportedly marched down Yefet Street following the Friday prayer, protesting the renewal of the construction over Jaffa's old Al Eassaf Muslim cemetery. Police forces reportedly confronted protesters as those blocked the road.
"Jaffa right now. You can feel the peace," one Twitter user wrote, posting a video, showing the crowd addressing police cavalry.
יפו עכשיו. מרגישים את השלום pic.twitter.com/E668fzaAFy
— Keepitrippy (@keepitrippy) August 14, 2020
"Instead of catching the criminals who murder or getting their hands on the officers who killed Iyad elHallaq...instead of throwing them in jail," the speaker addressing the officers said, police "are chasing people who came to protest and protect the dignity of their dead."
People who came to "protest and protect the best values humanity could possibly have," the speaker told police. "Those who will not protect the dead in their grave will not be protected by anyone, and neither will be the land" of their grave.
"A protest march is taking place right on Yefet Street in Jaffa, during which violent riots and major roadblocks were reported following the Friday prayer," Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit said Friday afternoon.
"Police are on the scene and have been forced to use crowd dispersal methods following multiple calls on the demonstrators to dissolve," the unit continued, saying law enforcement sought to prevent the protesters "from entering the crowded Jaffa Flea Market which is filled at this hour."
Police called on drivers "not to drive vehicles through Nahum Goldman Street, Yefet Street and the Jaffa Clock Tower Square."
Protests first began in Jaffa several weeks ago, as Tel Aviv's municipality began the construction of a homeless shelter in an area where once stood a Muslim cemetery.
Back in 1915, Syria Wail Jamal Pasha ordered to move the cemetery, connecting south Jaffa with its Manshiyya neighborhood, now in Tel Aviv's Charles Clore Park. Most of the graves were moved to a different location.
Intense clashes took place in Jaffa and Tel Aviv in July, with trucks, cars and dumpsters ignited, according to Maariv. A Molotov cocktail was reportedly hurled toward the Tel Aviv municipal building, shattering a window and causing a fire. At least one office was extensively damaged.