TEL AVIV - Angry demonstrations broke out in Israel's Arab towns on Saturday after the deadly Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip which left at least 200 dead, eyewitnesses said.
Hundreds took to the streets in Oum el-Fahem, Nazareth, Sahnin and Tamra in northern Israel in response to a call from leaders of the country's Arab community.
Demonstrators chanted slogans condemning "Israeli aggression" and waved Palestinian flags.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said: "Police have been placed on alert in the whole country" to deal with any trouble and to support the civil defence services.
He gave no report of any incident at the protests.
The Arab population is comprised of the descendants of the Palestinians who remained in their land despite being subjected to an Israeli campaign of ethnic cleansing during the creation of Israel.
Israel has often come under international criticism for ‘racism’ and mistreatment of its Arab minority, who are the original inhabitants of the land and today make up one fifth of its total population.