Hundreds of Ethiopian Israelis are once again expected to rally in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, prompting a mass police effort to prepare the city for disruptions after last week's logistical nightmare.
The protests are expected to turn violent, police sources told Walla! News, and police are preparing riot dispersal methods and to deploy hundreds of police officers throughout strategic points in the city.
Among other concerns, police are preparing for the possibility of protesters once again blocking the Ayalon Highway, clashing with police, and disrupting public order.
Community and protest leaders are expected to hold a press conference at Beit Sokolov at 2:00 pm, they announced Saturday during a similar protest in Rishon LeZion.
In that demonstration, dozens of protesters blocked Jabotinsky St. in front of the main police station, and blocked the main road, as well as the entrance to the Nahalat Yehuda neighborhood.
While police condemned the demonstration as illegal, there were no clashes between police and protesters and no known arrests; police did, however, evict protestors from Jabotinsky to open the thoroughfare to traffic.
For the past several days, the Ethiopian community has flooded Tel Aviv en masse to protest the beating of Damas Pakada, an Ethiopian Jewish soldier who was brutally assaulted by a police officer in Holon earlier this month. Netanyahu met with Pakada last Monday.
Most of the leaders of the Ethiopian community have been directly involved with the protests.