Israeli Acquitted in Traffic Mishap That Sparked Arab Riots
An Israeli involved in a traffic accident that killed four Palestinians and set off a popular revolt against Israeli rule in December, 1987, has been acquitted of manslaughter.
The Israeli news agency Itim said a court in the southern city of Beersheba took more than four years to find Herzl Buchovza, 28, not guilty Thursday.
The court cited difficulties in finding witnesses in acquitting him of manslaughter and related charges.
On Dec. 8, 1987, Buchovza was following another truck in the occupied Gaza Strip when the lead truck swerved, avoiding an oncoming car, which then hit Buchovza’s vehicle. Four Palestinians from the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza died in the crash and five others were injured.
A rumor spread through Jabalya that the accident was a deliberate attempt to kill Arabs, and the first riots of the intifada , or Palestinian uprising, erupted.
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