More vehicles stoned in north
Bus stoned by children in Upper Nazareth; Arab youths arrested after vehicle stoned in Akko
All is not quiet on the northern front, as stone throwing incidents persist. On Wednesday, children stoned a bus in the northern town of Upper Nazareth. No injuries or property damage were reported in the incident.
The bus driver involved in the Upper Nazareth stoning lodged a complaint with the city’s police department following the incident, and told officers that his vehicle was stoned as he was driving through the town’s Har-Yona neighborhood.
Police sources said that they were unsure whether the culprits were Jews or Arabs, but that this was a very serious occurrence and that they would launch undercover operations in the area in the coming days in order to apprehend stone throwers.
Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter addressed the recent surge in stone throwing incidents in the north during a Knesset meeting Wednesday.
“The Northern District of the Israel Police is all too familiar with such incidents,” said Dichter, “and is working vigorously to curb this phenomenon.” The minister also noted that the police department has allocated copious resources and manpower to fighting the phenomenon.
Dichter further noted that “there were 29 stoning incidents in the northern district since the beginning of 2008, which a sharp increase from what we witnessed in January and February of 2007 when only three such incidents were reported.”
Ahiya Raved contributed to this report
