Speaking on Thursday night, Police chief Kobi Shabtai blamed right-wing politician MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Religious Zionism) for inflaming the situation and being the root cause of the current wave of violence.
Following the publication of his words, Otzma Yehudit (Ben Gvir's faction within Religious Zionism) issued a statement calling on Shabtai to resign.
"Kobi Shabtai abandoned the residents of Lod, abandoned our security needs, and now you're blaming Ben Gvir? You failed. Go home."
In his own response, Ben Gvir said, "Anyone who can't cope with stone-throwing and Molotov cocktails - let him drop off his keys and go home."