Arabs riot in Jerusalem at end of mourning period for slain teen

Shuafat light rail damaged again, gas bombs and rocks thrown at police.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Muhammad Abu Khdeir (photo credit: REUTERS)
Muhammad Abu Khdeir
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Hundreds of Arabs rioted throughout east Jerusalem on Saturday night to commemorate the 40-day anniversary of the brutal murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, resulting in the suspension of light rail services for the second time since the 16-year-old was killed.
According to police, masked Arabs threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and firecrackers in the neighborhoods of Shuafat, Isawiya and Silwan, with most of the damage sustained in Shuafat, where Abu Khdeir lived with his family.
“Police arrived at the scene promptly and dispersed the crowds using non-lethal riot control methods,” a police spokesman said Sunday. “The rioting in Shuafat resulted in damage to its light rail stop, which temporarily suspended service there.”
No arrests or injuries were reported, police said.
Riots engulfed large swaths of the Shuafat, Isawiya, Silwan and Beit Hanina neighborhoods for two weeks following the revenge killing of Abu Khdeir, whose badly burned corpse was found in the Jerusalem Forest on July 2.
The violence resulted in the destruction of light rail stops in both Shuafat and Beit Hanina, which have cost the municipality millions of shekels to repair.