Israel Religious Rioting Enters Fifth Day

October 12, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: United Press International

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/12/Israel_religious_rioting_enters_fifth_day/UPI-20021223824494/

Sporadic rioting hit the northern Israeli city of Acre for a fifth day Sunday despite a massive police presence, officials said.

With 700 police in place, religious clashes were diminishing as leaders of the city's Arab community agreed to issue a statement condemning the acts of a Muslim cab driver that incited the riots, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.

Knesset Member Abbas Zakour said Acre's Arab leadership met Saturday and discussed ways to avoid similar violence in the future, while Israel's national leaders condemned the religious intolerance that led to the violence. Officials say the riots were sparked when a Muslim cab driver drove his vehicle into a observant Jewish neighborhood where cars were banned for the holy day of Yom Kippur.