By KUNA,
Gaza : Four days of continuous rioting in Acre (Akka) ended with Jews torching an empty Arab house, three injuries among Jews and arrest of three others for hurling stones at policemen and Arabs, according to an Israeli daily.
“Haaretz” reported that since Wednesday, police have arrested some 30 rioters, both Jewish and Arab. Some of them have been subsequently released because they are minors. Police have also used water cannons to disperse stone-throwing rioters in the city.
On Saturday, the day began without incident, and many Acre residents hoped that the violence was finally at an end. Later, it erupted anew, with the city’s eastern neighborhood once again the focal point. Hundreds of Jewish rioters clashed with policemen, and Jewish and Arab activists threw stones at each other.
This followed a series of violent incidents on Friday that included the torching of three other houses.
“All the money I invested in this house, and now everything has been destroyed,” complained Subhi Murasi, owner of one of the torched houses.
He said various Arab public figures – including Sheikh Ra’ad Salah, head of the northern faction of Israel’s Islamic Movement – had promised to help the Arab families whose homes were damaged.
Many neighborhood residents have fled their homes since the rioting erupted last Wednesday night, shortly after the start of the Yom Kippur holiday.
Senior police officers met with local Arab leaders yesterday, and all agreed on the need to restore normalcy as soon as possible.