Apologizing
ApologizingYafo 48

Representatives of Jaffa's Arab community and Joint List MKs apologized Sunday to firefighters for a rock-throwing attack last Thursday.

The meeting was attended by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa fire station chief and the Non-Jewish Sector Commissioner Idid Dahar, members of the Tel Aviv City Council, representatives of the Islamic Movement, Joint List MKs, clerics, and members of the Jaffa neighborhood councils.

Arab sector officials apologized for the rioting last Thursday in which protesters threw rocks at firefighters who had arrived on the scene to battle blazes started by local Arabs unhappy with police enforcement of coronavirus directives. Attendees expressed deep regret with the incident and strongly condemned the violence.

Station commander Avi Yehuda welcomed the initiative and noted that it was the duty of everyone to ensure firefighters' safety.

Lawyer Osama Saadi who initiated the meeting said: "We are witnessing activity that has been increasing in the sector over the past three years: opening [new] fire stations and collaborating with the fire department to save human lives."

The Islamic Movement's representative Mohammed Muhammad emphasized that "this was a grave incident inconsistent with the joint action between firefighting and [Israeli rescue efforts] in the Arab sector." He stated that he would do everything in his power to prevent such an event from happening in the future.

MK Sami Abu Shehadeh stated that it was their duty to "support the fire department and do everything possible to continue raising awareness of fire safety and proper information, thereby decreasing the amount of fires."

At the end of the meeting, the clerics said they would espouse the importance of firefighting and its main purpose - saving human lives and property irrespective of race, gender, or religion in the Arab sector.

Arutz Sheva reported today that coronavirus restrictions have not stopped stone-throwing incidents on Route 446. Last Tuesday, Arabs targeted a Jewish vehicle traveling near the community of Nili in the Binyamin region.

A stone hit the car window in front of the driver's seat and penetrated the vehicle, but the driver miraculously escaped serious injury.

The driver, Yisrael Naki, a 24-year-old resident of Avnei Hefetz, married and father of one, was traveling from his home in Binyamin when a stone hit his vehicle a little after 4:30 p.m.