The photos taken by Rahat residents on their mobile phones amid the violent clashes that took place in the Bedouin town during the funeral procession of the young Sami al-Jaar on Jan. 19 were very disturbing. On the one hand, hundreds of angry young people were seen attacking police cars as they rushed into town, while on the other hand, police from the Southern District were documented firing tear gas and rubber bullets at a crowd of protesters. After each salvo, masses of protesters were seen scurrying to find shelter. Some demonstrators appeared to fall down and disappear into thick smoke while others were being taken to triage points. The photographs I obtained are tangible, scary and troubling evidence of the great schism between Israel's Bedouins and the establishment, as well as of the intensity of the Bedouin rage.
It all began the week of Jan. 14, following a police raid on drug dealers in Rahat. The arrest of two Rahat residents in Neighborhood 26 went awry. Residents threw stones at police, and in circumstances still under investigation by the Police Internal Investigations Department, al-Jaar was killed by a firearm. A mass riot took place the following day during Jaar’s funeral. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Rahat Mayor Talal al-Krenawi, who was also injured by tear gas at the funeral, says that another person died from a heart attack after inhaling tear gas, adding that hundreds of the town’s residents were injured by rubber bullets and tear gas. According to the mayor, more than 300 people were injured. Soroka Hospital told Al-Monitor that it received 22 injured people for treatment.