Mughar, Lebanon - Dozens of Christian families have fled their homes in northern Israel, accusing the Israeli police of failing to protect them from attacks by their Druze neighbours.
The quiet town of Mughar was paralysed for three days last month when thousands of Druze youth roamed the streets, attacking properties and cars belonging to Christians. Twelve people were injured - two of whom were shot.
The violence began when a rumour spread among the Druze that Christian schoolboys had created photomontages of Druze schoolgirls with naked bodies and posted them on the internet. The police found no evidence and arrested a 16-year-old boy for starting the hoax.
Violence began on February 10 and continued for the next two days, forcing many Christians to flee.
The Israeli internal security minister, Gideon Ezra, who visited the area after the attacks, said: "These are the worst sectarian riots I have ever seen in the Israeli Arab community."
Around 30 families have stayed away from Mughar and others say they are planning to leave. Last week, many Christian youths had not returned to school and business owners continued to salvage goods from their burnt out properties.
The Druze, a Muslim sect, make up almost 60% of the 15,000 population of Mughar, with Christians and Muslims each comprising around 20%.
Although all of them speak Arabic, relations between the Christians and Druze have been strained since the establishment of Israel in 1948. The Druze allied themselves with the new state and, like the Jewish population, are subject to military conscription.
Although Christians are angry at their treatment at the hands of the Druze, most of their anger is reserved for the Israeli police, who they say could have halted the violence.
Witnesses said they saw police in cars watch as the mob stoned and burned buildings.
One witness said: "The attacks on cars and people are nothing new. But this time they were very well organised. They had petrol and tubes to pour it through doors and they had tools to break into the houses.
"The Druze have no fear. They are in the police and the army."
The local police commissioner, Dan Ronen, told the Knesset committee on interior affairs that it was not the job of the police to become involved in inter-communal violence.
"Police have no say in the matter. Don't expect the police to solve all communal internal conflicts. This is the responsibility of the heads of the community," he said.
Mansoor Abbas, a dentist from the Muslim community who was involved in reconciliation talks, said: "It is clear that the reaction of the youth was excessive and those that were punished were not connected to the issue.
"The police did not create the problem but they did not fulfil their duties in protecting citizens and their property."
One father who plans to leave the town said: "My children were in their room and for the first time ever I thought that they could all be killed. If there was any question of a Jewish family being threatened there would be thousands of police on the streets."
In a Druze restaurant there are symbols for each of the faiths: a picture of St George slaying the dragon, a Druze leader and verses from the Qu'ran. The proprietor, Said Ghanem, said the incident was terrible but blamed the Christians for being aloof.
"I told my Christian friends that they should not isolate themselves from the community. We go to their funerals and services but they do not come to ours. We use their businesses but they do not come and use ours. They keep their distance," he said.