Northern residents were incensed when they heard the distinct sound of fireworks coming from nearby Arab communities during ceremonies for the commemoration of fallen Israeli soldiers and terror victims in honor of Memorial Day.
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Sunday evening at 8 pm, memorial ceremonies started at the memorial site for fallen soldiers in Carmiel. During the ceremony, participants suddenly heard blasts of fireworks, apparently coming from nearby Arab communities.
"We're used to the calls of the muezzin five times a day, including at five in the morning, and we're even used to fireworks being shot off for occasions they celebrate when we're observing Yom Kippur, but to set off fireworks on a day like this is simply a provocation. Even if they don't observe Memorial Day, they must be really insensitive to ignore us and our pain in this manner," said one of the participants in the memorial ceremony.
A spokesperson for the Carmiel municipality, Laviya Fischer, said this incident "can't be defined as good neighborliness." She added that after Independence Day, Carmiel Mayor Adi Eldar planned to approach the local council heads in the neighboring communities to protest the insensitivity.
'Not the day for fireworks'
In Haifa police were investigating who was behind the fireworks and firecrackers heard in the neighborhood of Halisa, not far from Memorial Park where commemoration ceremonies were being held.
"Patrol officers were sent to the scene and discovered that the firecrackers were set off during the henna celebration of members of an ethnic minority group," a police official said.
"We're now searching for the specific suspect responsible for shooting off the fireworks."
"I live on the mountain ridge in Haifa," a witness told Ynet. "A few minutes after the siren marking the opening of Memorial Day was sounded, I heard blasts. I went out to my balcony and saw on my right, in the area of Halisa, fireworks for a full few minutes. At a certain point they stopped, and a few minutes later they started again."
"I have no doubt that they were fireworks. It's rather disturbing. This isn't exactly the day for fireworks, unless the people living there want to express protest. Fireworks on such a night are kind of hard to accept," he said.
Fireworks and firecrackers were also heard in a Ramla neighborhood during Memorial Day ceremonies, according to reports. Police found that the fireworks were set off at a wedding celebration.
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