Arrests reach 15 in Tuba Zanghariya riot

Youths remanded to 4 days custody; large numbers of officers deployed to prevent any possible Jewish- Arab clashes ahead of Yom Kippur.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Burned tires in Tuba Zanghariya 311 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Burned tires in Tuba Zanghariya 311
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Fourteen youths arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of taking part in major rioting in the Upper Galilee village of Tuba Zanghariya were remanded in custody for four days, while a 15th youth, a minor, was ordered to remain in custody for another day at the Safed Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Another suspect was handed down a restraining order banning him from the village.
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Police said youths threw rocks, fired shots in the air and burned down buildings following an arson and vandalism attack on the village’s central square by vandals who left behind far-right Hebrew graffiti.
Meanwhile, the police’s Coastal (Hof) District in the North has deployed large numbers of officers to prevent any possible Jewish- Arab clashes ahead of Yom Kippur.
Special Patrol Officers, Border Police and ordinary civilian patrol units have taken up positions around mixed Jewish-Arab cities such as Acre, where days of violent clashes erupted on Yom Kippur in 2008. Police have also taken up positions on Route 65 and in the Wadi Ara region.
The units have been tasked to “prevent the outbreak of disturbances and break up clashes,” police said. Police are concerned that small incidents, such as an attack on a mosque or a synagogue, could set off further violence in the North and have set up positions to guard places of worship.