Driver who sparked Akko riots remanded to house arrest
Haifa District Court orders Taufik Jamal to seven days house arrest, revokes his license for one month
Taufik Jamal, the Arab driver who strayed into a Jewish neighborhood in Akko on Yom Kippur and inadvertently sparked riots between the city's Jewish and Arab communities, was remanded to house arrest on Wednesday.
The Haifa District Court ordered Jamal be home-bound for one week and suspended his license for one month.
Jamal was arrested by the police on suspicion of reckless endangerment. According to eyewitness reports, Jamal entered the Jewish neighborhood while speeding and nearly hurt pedestrians. Some claimed he was also playing loud music in his car.
Intolerable. Mofaz (R) with Akko Mayor Shimon Lankry (Photo: George Ginsburg)
Jamal, who appeared before the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee, admitted his wrongdoing but denied all the allegations: "If what I did caused all of this, then I'm more than willing to sacrifice myself if it means restoring peace to Akko," he told the committee.
The efforts to restore the peaceful coexistence to the northern city continued Wednesday, as Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz toured the rift community.
"The reality of what happened in Akko on Yom Kippur is intolerable. To preserve coexistence we must respect one another's religion and faith and not take the law into our own hands," he said.
