Grenade thrown at Tira mayor's house

Attack may be related to leader's continued work despite criminal probe.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
grenades 298.88 (photo credit: Shin Bet [file])
grenades 298.88
(photo credit: Shin Bet [file])
A grenade was thrown into the house of Tira Mayor Halil Kassam on Sunday morning, Army Radio reported. No casualties or damage to property were reported in the incident. Police estimate that the attack revolved around Kassam's insistence that he remain in his position despite a criminal investigation surrounding him. Three weeks ago, the Knesset's Interior Committee held a meeting on the matter, during which they discussed how to deal with recent, ongoing attacks on Israeli mayors. Members decided to push for a new law that would see jail sentences extended to three years as the maximum sentence for threatening a regional leader. In January, Police Insp.-Gen Moshe Karadi decided to appoint a special national police task force to combat the attacks and threats against mayors. The task force would centralize, coordinate and oversee all of the almost 40 files documenting threats made against mayors. Until this point, all incidents have been dealt with at the level of the police districts, without coordination or intelligence-sharing among the six districts. The team would also weigh the cases, and decide which cases would be turned over to a special national investigative unit. Karadi also instructed Police Operations Chief Bertie Ohayon to reconsider the "security package" currently given to mayors. Around twenty of the nearly 40 mayors who have received threats are believed to be in physical danger. Rebecca Anna Stoil contributed to this report.