Violence hits Israeli basketball

[Rasputin]

"Hapoel Jerusalem will not play basketball again until those who are guilty are found," club chairman Danny Klein said following the incident.

"If we find out that the guilty party is a Hapoel fan, as far as I am concerned, the team will be dismantled. I will quit."

With a minute and a half remaining in the match, a fan standing above the Amir section in Malha threw the fire cracker onto the floor, prompting the guard to run, scoop up the explosive and jump on it to absorb the blast in front of the Holon bench.

The explosion was heard throughout the hall and chaos erupted as players, fans and security personnel ran in every direction.

Medical teams arrived at the scene in to tended to the injured, which included fans.

Police arrested four Hapoel Holon fans Monday morning on suspicion of involvement in the incident.

Israeli sport is experiencing a surge in crowd troubles.

Crowd troubles continue

Last week, the Israeli Football Association banned fans of club team Beitar Jerusalem from two home matches after they booed through a minute's silence in memory of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Hundreds of fans booed and a few even sang songs praising his murder by Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist who was jailed for life after he shot Rabin three times in the back following a Tel Aviv peace rally on November 4, 1995.

The club is renowned for its right-wing sympathies, Beitar Jerusalem and owned by Israeli-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak.

Gaydamak is not free from controversy himself.

An international arrest warrant has been issued by the French government for the 55 year old and he is wanted for questioning in connection with illegal arms smuggling during the Angolan civil war.

His son, Alexandre, is the owner of English Premiership club Portsmouth.

A 20-year-old Hapoel Holon fan confessed Monday to throwing a firecracker during Sunday night's game against Hapoel Jerusalem, wounding a security guard.

Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended Yossi Malakh's remand Monday by five days. The court also extended the remand of two of Malakh's friends, Nir Reuven and Itzik Daniel.

The three arrived at the game together, along with a minor, and smuggled the firecracker into the arena. Police sources said Monday they are not yet convinced that Itzik committed the act on his own, and are checking whether his two friends were involved in the plan.
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Malakh and Reuven were arrested Sunday evening inside the arena, a short while after the incident. Daniel and the minor were arrested outside the arena a few hours later.

Also Monday, Hadassah Medical Center surgeons operated for more than nine hours to restore the hand of the wounded security guard.

Three fingers of the guard's hand were amputated in the incident, which took place in the Malha basketball arena in Jerusalem. The surgeons reattached the fingers, and were successful in restoring blood flow.

The blast of the firecracker was heard clearly on the live television broadcast of the game. Television pictures showed a white cloud rising from the spot.

The Jerusalem police are expected to investigate in the coming days how the culprit managed to smuggle the device past the arena's security, and why the security team wasn't able to locate the device and prevent the explosion.

Violence in sports has become an issue in Israel. A week ago, Israelis were scandalized when supporters of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team booed during a minute of silence honoring the anniversary of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.