Teen brawl in Akko takes nationalist turn
Arab, Jewish youths arrested after fistfight over a girl escalates into inter-ethnic conflict; Local police chief says 'event shows that anything in this fragile situation can turn nationalistic'
A Friday night neighborhood brawl in Akko almost led to inter-ethnic battles in the city on Saturday. "The quick deployment of forces and immediate arrests prevented an outbreak of violence," Akko Police Chief Avi Edery told Ynet.
At 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, a group of Arab youths came to blows with a group of Jewish youths in the same neighborhood where violent riots
took place between the Jewish and Arab local communities during Yom Kippur in 2008. Police believe that the fight originated as a competition over the attentions of a girl.
Cameras at a local park, set up as part of the 'City Without Violence' project, indicate that the Arab group appeared to be the victors in the original brawl, leading to a desire for revenge by the Jewish group.
"Shortly after the incident occurred, we heard rumors that some Jewish boys had been beaten up by a group of Arab boys and that they had regrouped and come back with a group of 30 people in order to get them (the Arab group) back," Edery said.
Cameras showed a large group of Jewish youths marching towards four of the Arab participants in the original brawl and shouting 'Death to the Arabs', while holding stones.
The Arab youths, who were sitting in a car, tried to ignite it without success and eventually ran away. Their car was heavily vandalized.
At this point, police forces arrived in the area. They stopped a vehicle apparently coming to the aid of the Jewish groups. Passengers in the vehicle were armed with knives.
Thus far, Akko police detained five Jewish youths, suspected of involvement in planning a knife attack on the Arab group and of having thrown rocks at an Arab home during the course of events. Two Arab youths were also detained for their involvement.
"This incident shows that, given the fragile make-up of the community and the history of difficult events here, any such event can turn into a nationalist incident," Edery said. He emphasized that police are still deployed in the area and that more related arrests are expected throughout the day.
