Two more Israeli Arabs were arrested over the weekend in a round up of saboteurs and were charged, among other things, with an attempt to assassinate Deputy Premier Yigal Allon. The accused live near Kfar Saba. They were apprehended along with other suspects who have been operating in an area close to the former Israel-Jordan border.
The Israeli Arabs are accused of having planted explosives at a Tel Aviv bus stop which killed the owner of a kiosk nearby and other explosives that damaged a railroad line near Kfar Saba. They are also accused of having placed explosives near the rostrum in Raanana where Mr. Allon was scheduled to speak during the recent election campaign.
The growing number of Israeli Arabs involved in sabotage and terrorist activities has created mounting concern in Israeli circles. The Attorney-General is considering a change of policy that would make Israeli Arabs accused of sabotage liable to trial by military rather than civilian courts. Proposals have already been made to re-impose military government on the Arab areas of Israel. This was rejected last week by Deputy Premier Allon. He said generalizations were dangerous and that Israeli Arabs as a whole were not involved with saboteurs and terrorists, only a relatively few individuals who cooperated with El Fatah. He said the authorities had the means and power to combat this on an individual basis without imposing restrictions on the Arab population of Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
