Israeli parliament speaker: Israel on brink of civil war

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein on Monday warned about ongoing protests by Israel's Ethiopian community, as he formally opened the Knesset's summer session.

Specifically referencing the demonstration Sunday night in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Edelstein called the events "a sad chapter in the history of Israeli society."

Protests against racial discrimination, specifically, the beating of Damas Pakada, an Ethiopian soldier brutally assaulted by a police officer in Holon last Sunday, began initially in the occupied al-Qods ('Jerusalem') on Thursday and continued in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, thousands of protestors blocked traffic on the Ayalon Highway before marching to Rabin Square. There, the demonstration turned violent as 55 police officers and 12 civilians were wounded.

The Speaker called on all Israelis not to be dragged into a civil war.