A Druze protest broke out in northern Israel on Sunday, during which Route 6 was blocked to southbound traffic near the Elyakim Interchange.
Protesters blocked the highway and set tires on fire, Israel Police said, causing heavy traffic in the area. Officers from the Northern District and the Traffic Division were dispatched to the scene and reopened the road.
The protest comes in response to an attack on three young Druze men at a club in Tel Aviv overnight between Thursday and Friday, after they were heard speaking Arabic among themselves.
According to eyewitness accounts, the attackers shouted, "We don't want Arabs here," before assaulting them. One of the young men, who is due to enlist in the IDF soon, was stabbed during the incident while attempting to shield his two friends, both active-duty soldiers, with his body.
The young man who was stabbed sustained injuries to his back, arm, and face and was evacuated to a hospital, where he was admitted in moderate condition.
Police said officers at the scene of the protest were directing traffic and working to maintain public order. Police also emphasized that they would allow freedom of expression and protest within the bounds of the law but would not permit actions that endanger public safety or disrupt public order.
Druze, Arab inseparable part of Israeli society
Earlier on Sunday, Democrats party chairman Yair Golan condemned the incident in a post to X/Twitter, after visiting one of the injured young men.
"It’s hard to stand in front of a person who was harmed solely because of the language he spoke," wrote Golan. "The Druze and Arabs are an inseparable part of Israeli society, and anyone who attacks them is attacking the values that our country must uphold."
"This violence is fueled by incitement, racism, and a government that legitimizes them," he said, accusing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of spreading hate.
"When hatred comes from the government, from Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, racist ministers, it seeps straight into the streets."
"I promised A. [the injured young man] that his safety would be one of the first and most important tasks for us Democrats in government. We will restore security to the streets, fight racism without blinking, and build a society here that ensures true equality."
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman also condemned the incident on X, calling on Israel Police to properly investigate the incident and apprehend attackers "to the fullest extent of the law with utmost severity."