The Israeli-appointed mayor of El-Bireh, Hassan a-Tawil, agreed Sunday to remain in office, after resigning the day before.
Tawil, who was the target of an assassination attempt in the early days of the Palestinian uprising, quit after arsonists set his house afire in the West Bank town early Saturday morning.
He apparently has been under pressure to resign. But after a meeting with the head of the Israeli civil administration in Ramallah, Tawil withdrew his resignation and said he would “continue to serve the people.”
The arson was one of several incidents of unrest during a weekend that also saw attempted sabotage in the center of Jerusalem, murder of Arabs who allegedly collaborate with the Israeli authorities and mounting tension between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.
A bomb exploded at a bus stop in Ramat Gan Sunday morning. No one was hurt.
An Arab resident of Nablus apparently suspected of collaboration was beaten to death Friday. There have been a number of similar incidents in recent weeks.
An Arab veterinarian, Dr. Ahmad Mashal, was seriously injured Friday morning when his car caught fire while he was trying to set a detonator to blow up the vehicle.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. in the Russian Compound, near Jerusalem police headquarters.
Passersby tried to pull the trapped driver free of the burning car until they saw a gasoline canister inside.
The car exploded and its occupant was rushed to a hospital, where he was identified as a resident of the Arab suburb of Shuafat. He was reported in critical condition.
Police detained Mashal’s brother on suspicion he was associated with the aborted car-bomb attempt. He has denied connection with terrorist organizations.
SETTLER ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING
Haim Ben-Lulu, a 50-year-old Jewish resident of Kiryat Arba, was arrested Saturday night, suspected of having shot to death an Arab youth, Nader Da’ane, 16, during a stone-throwing incident Friday in Hebron.
The arrest drew angry protests from Jewish settlers, who insisted that Ben-Lulu had every right to fire his Uzi submachine gun in self-defense.
The matter was raised by Industry and Trade Minister Ariel Sharon at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.
Sharon, a Likud hard-liner, wanted to know “how can the police detain the father of eight children, just because he defended his life?”
“Should we pass a law that would exempt parents of seven children and more from detention?” Police Minister Haim Bar-Lev, a Laborite, asked in reply.
Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin pointed out that the settlers are allowed to defend themselves, “but they should not take the law into their own hands.”
He added, “The number of soldiers guarding the Jewish settlers in Hebron is larger than the number of settlers.”
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