Brazilian police released three Israeli tourists on Monday after the men were detained over clashes with residents during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Itacare, Bahia state police said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
Bahia state police said the three men, ages 21 to 22, were released after they “conflicted with a group of people during a pro-Palestine demonstration” in Itacare, a beach city in Brazil’s tropical northeast with a population of about 30,000.
According to Bahia state police, the incident escalated when the tourists insulted officers and resisted arrest after the clashes began, and footage of the protest went viral on Brazilian social media.
The police statement described the demonstration as occurring on Saturday and said residents questioned the presence of the Israeli tourists in the town, while chants and Palestinian flags featured in the anti-Israel protests.
Bahia state police also said there was another demonstration the same day in Itacare in which some locals showed support for the visitors.
Itacare is about 1,340 kilometers (832 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro, and the city has become a travel spot for former Israeli soldiers, according to the AP report.