Brazilian police release 3 Israeli tourists after clashes with pro-Palestine locals in beach city

SAO PAULO — Brazilian police released on Monday three Israeli tourists who this weekend were involved in a disturbance with pro-Palestine residents of a beachfront city in the country's tropical northeast.

Bahia state police said in a statement that three men between ages 21 and 22 insulted officers and resisted arrest after they “conflicted with a group of people during a pro-Palestine demonstration” in Itacare, a city of 30,000 residents that has become a travel spot for former Israeli soldiers.

Itacare lies 1,340 kilometers (832 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.

The protest on Saturday went viral on Brazilian social media and showed the Israeli tourists clashing with residents who questioned their presence in the city. Another demonstration that showed locals being favorable to the foreign visitors took place the same day, police said.

Several people involved in the protest against the Israeli tourists featured Palestinian flags and chants against Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which killed more than 72,000 Palestinians since its start.