Two Israeli Arabs were killed in Nazareth Sunday in clashes between Jews and Israeli Arabs, reported Al-Jazira TV Channel.
The violence started after several hundred Jewish Israelis threw stones at houses belonging to Arabs and shouted insults at local people in Nazareth, the largest Arab town in Israel, said the TV report.
One of the victims, Mohammed Omar Akawi, 42, was shot in the heart, a source told AFP.
On hearing news of his death, a crowd gathered outside the hospital to demonstrate their anger, said AFP.
Between 400 and 500 residents of Upper Nazareth, the Jewish part of the town, were involved, they told AFP.
Several hundred Arabs then took to the streets, and fighting broke out between the two groups.
A number of other Arabs were taken to hospital with slight injuries, and five houses were damaged.
Several Arabs told AFP that the police fired tear gas and rubber coated metal bullets at them, to "protect" the Jewish attackers, the agency added.
However, a police spokesman denied any bias, saying they had used the same anti-riot methods against both.
He said "more than a thousand" people had been involved in the clashes.
Meanwhile, witnesses told Reuters that the clashes also flared late Sunday in the West Bank city of Hebron and medical sources said at least five people were wounded - (Several Sources)
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