Acre Arab driver arrested

The Arab driver who touched off days of rioting in the mixed Jewish and Arab city of Acre has been arrested. Jamal Taufik was arrested and charged with reckless driving, endangering lives and offending religious sensibilities. The Haifa District Court also suspended his driver’s license for one month. Taufik denies that he drove through a Jewish area on Yom Kippur eve, Oct. 8, in order to incite the city’s Jews, saying he was only driving to pick up his daughter. Eyewitnesses told Israeli media that he blasted his car stereo, was smoking and driving at high speeds through the streets. The five days of riots between Jewish and Arab youths resulted in extensive damage to property in Acre. A large police presence continues to patrol the city’s Arab and Jewish sectors. Last week, Arab leaders issued a statement condemning Taufik’s actions.

Ban slams Hezbollah

Hezbollah is undermining the UN-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2006 Lebanon war, the UN secretary general said. “Hezbollah’s maintenance of a major armed component and a paramilitary infrastructure separate from the state, including a secure network of communication, which the group itself deems an integral part of its arsenal, is a direct challenge to the authority of the government of Lebanon and its security forces and prevents their exclusive control over the entire territory of Lebanon,” Ban Ki-moon said in his report to the UN Security Council on compliance with UN resolutions aimed at bringing stability to Lebanon.

Third firebomber killed

Israeli troops killed three Palestinian firebombers in three days last week. Israeli forces in the West Bank shot and killed a Palestinian last Thursday as he prepared to hurl a Molotov cocktail at them. The incident took place near the Palestinian village of Kufr Malik, according to Ha’aretz. Last Wednesday’s deadly incident took place near Ramallah, when a Palestinian mob attacked an IDF position. On Tuesday, IDF troops shot a Palestinian teenager near the Jewish settlement of Beit El. The troops found ten other Molotov cocktails next to the teen’s body. Palestinian sources told Ynetnews the youths were throwing rocks, not firebombs.

Christians visit

Some 7,000 Christian tourists visited Jerusalem for Sukkot. The pilgrims came for the 29th annual Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). The tourists, from all over the world, were expected to inject some $18 million to $20 million into the economy, an ICEJ news release said. “Their [Christian tourists] presence here at this particular time also constitutes a major statement of solidarity with Israel as it confronts the growing threat of a nuclear Iran, while also bringing a major financial injection into the local economy at a very critical moment,” said Rev. Malcolm Hedding, the ICEJ’s executive director.