TEL AVIV: Dozens of relatives of Arab Israelis killed in a Sinai road accident last month protested outside Egypt s embassy in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, criticizing Egyptian authorities over the deaths. The protestors slammed as too lenient a one-year jail sentence handed down earlier this month to the Egyptian driver of a bus that crashed in Egypt s Sinai Peninsula killing 10 Arab Israeli tourists and an Egyptian. Ahmed Hanafi Abu Al-Ola, who went on trial for involuntary homicide and causing bodily harm, reckless driving and speeding, faced a maximum term of five years. The holidaymakers were killed when his bus overturned between the Sinai resorts of Nuweiba and Taba on Aug. 22. Survivors of the crash taking part in the Tel Aviv demonstration claimed that before the accident Ola had announced he intended to carry out a suicide operation. The protestors also charged Egyptian authorities were too slow to send emergency help to the scene of the crash and criticized them for not allowing Israeli ambulances to cross the border and evacuate the casualties quicker. About 6,000 people die and 35,000 are injured in road accidents each year in Egypt, which the transport ministry in Cairo says are the second-highest cause of death in the country. AFP
Israelis protest against Egypt for deadly Sinai crash
