Caulfield protests after Burgertory store burnt down: More dramatic video ... trends now

New video has emerged of the tense standoff between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel supporters in Melbourne hours before wild protests broke out near a fast food restaurant that was razed to the ground the night before. 

The footage, understood to be filmed outside the 7-11 store in Caulfield in the city's south-east, shows a group of people gathered on the footpath holding up a Jewish Star of David flag.

A pro-Palestine supporter then drives by just metres from the crowd, instigating a shouting match that threatens to escalate into a physical altercation with calls of 'step around the corner' until police officers stand between the groups.

A person who claims to have filmed the footage told SCN that people in the group had been 'barking' at him as he was stopped at traffic lights, prompting his response. 

He added that he had 'tried to get out of the car but the cop was holding the door closed' before the light went green and he drove off. 

At one stage a Victoria police officer is seen in the video holding his index finger up to make a 'shushing' gesture in a vain attempt to try and stop the Palestine supporter from shouting at the pro-Israeli protestors. 

Hours later protesters were pepper sprayed and handcuffed after a pro-Palestine demonstration descended into violence outside a nearby popular burger joint.

An estimated 400 protesters from both sides of the Israel-Palestine debate clashed at Princes Park near the Burgertory restaurant in Caulfield at 7pm on Friday. Caulfield has a significant Jewish population.

Wild footage showed a huge scuffle kick off between the two groups, made up of approximately 200 members each, with many seen throwing punches as police tried to intervene. 

One man was pepper sprayed and removed in handcuffs from the area under breach of the peace provisions while another suffered minor injuries after being hit by a rock. 

In a social media post before the incident, Burgertory's CEO Hash Tayeh, 32, had asked people not to protest after his restaurant went up in flames.

Mr Tayeh, who transformed his business into Australia's largest independently-owned burger chain after founding it in 2018, had sparked controversy for leading cries of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' at a Melbourne rally a fortnight ago.

'There is no benefit to us protesting at the Caulfield store because some people out there will purposely try to bait you into doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing, and then they'll use that against you,' he said on his Instagram story on Friday afternoon.

'We want peace.' 

Victorian Police are investigating the circumstances behind the blaze, which they are treating as 'suspicious' but do not believe was politically motivated.