After Acre blast, fears of vigilantism
Following an alleged act of sabotage that led to the explosion of a residential building, killing five, the city of Acre is trying to keep one of Israel’s most important tourist destinations calm.
ACRE, Israel — It’s been a week since tragedy struck on Feb. 17, and Acre residents are struggling to get their lives back on track. The explosion that rocked the city, killing five people, was apparently an act of sabotage and not an accident. In the first few days after the incident, everyone still believed that the building in the Old City collapsed when some gas canisters inside exploded.
On Feb. 18, it was determined that the explosion was caused by people who came in the middle of the night to attack the cell phone tower set up in the building. Investigators concluded that three local young people had climbed to the top of the building and placed an explosive charge next to the tower, hoping to destroy it. The charge went off prematurely and caused the entire building to collapse, burying its residents. It took hours for rescue teams to extricate four bodies. The body of a 5-year-old boy was found later on in the ruins.
