Police officer and Israeli Arab man killed in home
ISRAEL - An Israeli police officer and an Israeli Arab have died during clashes over a court-ordered operation to demolish homes in an Arab Israeli village in the south of the country.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a local man sped toward the forces deployed to the Umm al-Hiran village yesterday as they were securing the area ahead of its planned demolition. He said a jeep raced toward the police, killing officer Erez Levi, 34. Police opened fire at the driver, killing Yaakub Abu al-Qiyan, 50, who Israeli officials later said belonged to an Islamist group. The clashes continued, and several police officers were wounded. Local residents said Qiyan was trying to leave town and only lost control of his vehicle after police shot at him. Qiyan’s brother, Ahmad, said he was “murdered in cold blood”, and Amnesty International called for an investigation into the reports of excessive force by police. “The police are light on the trigger when it comes to Arab citizens”, the Arab advocacy group Adalah said in a statement in which it accused the police of a “culture of lying.” Palestinians have carried out a number of attacks using vehicles against Israelis over the past year and a half, and earlier this month a Palestinian truck driver rammed into a group of Israeli soldiers, killing four. Ayman Odeh, a politician and head of the Arab Joint List in the Israeli parliament, was wounded in the clashes on Wednesday, along with several others. Odeh was taken to a hospital with blood streaming down his forehead. He told Israel’s Army Radio that he was shot by overzealous officers who were deployed after extensive negotiations to delay the demolition broke down. “This is a direct order from Netanyahu, who wants to enflame the area”, he said. “This is a disgrace.” The public security minister, Gilad Erdan, accused Odeh of stirring up the conflict and lying about what happened. He said he hoped the incident would not spark further divisions between Jews and Arabs in Israel but said that if it happened politicians such as Odeh bore responsibility. “He was there to enflame tensions and incite to violence”, Erdan told Army Radio. “He contributed to a very serious event that may also have criminal implications for him.” (Theguardian.com)