Apartment damaged by fire
Photo: Yossi Elias
One of the suspects in the case
Photo: Ofer Amram
Police arrest another suspect in Tel Aviv molotov cocktail case
Twenty-year old man, seventh in group suspected of throwing molotov cocktails at Arab homes in Hatikva neighborhood, turns himself in
Police have detained a 20-year old man from Hatikva neighborhood in Tel Aviv, who is suspected of throwing molotov cocktails at Arab homes in the area. The man, who arrived at the police station to turn himself in on Tuesday, was the seventh arrested in the affair.
On Monday six Jewish men, residents of Hatikva neighborhood, were detained under the suspicion that they had flung molotov cocktails at two apartments in which Arab citizens were residing.
Compensating for Riots
Sharon Roffe-Ofir
'Violence that erupted in Akko was racially-motivated, and the State must take responsibility, compensate victims,' Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel says in letter to finance minister
During a court hearing that determined the remand of their arrest, the prosecution learned that the men planned to set fire to another apartment in the area.
However the suspects' attorneys claimed their clients were not involved in the case, stating that two of the men have alibis. Attorney Tzadok Hugi told Ynet that "the police moved to arrest them too quickly. Especially now, at the time of the riots (in Akko), this will only instigate trouble in the streets."
The investigation into the matter was launched last Wednesday, when police received two late-night calls about molotov cocktails being thrown in Hatikva neighborhood. One of the apartments hit by the bottles, in which an Arab man resides, was lightly damaged.
On another street suspects attempted to hit an Arab home but instead struck the apartment underneath it, in which a Jewish family resides. The apartment caught fire and was burned irreparably, but no one was injured in either incident.
Due to the incidents' proximity to the Akko riots police suspected that they were race-related, and launched an investigation during which the six suspects were apprehended. The men had no criminal records, and police have stated that they remain uncooperative.
Since the Yom Kippur riots in Akko 78 citizens have been arrested, an equal number of whom are Jewish and Arab.
