Arab-Israelis accuse police of brutality against demonstrators
Demonstrations in the Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm spun out of control, and accusations of excessive force by the police have reached the Knesset.
Early this January, armed assailants shot the former mayor of Umm al-Fahm, Suleiman Aghbariah, leaving him seriously wounded. In response, the people of the city have gathered every Friday after prayers for the last eight weeks to protest the wave of violence and crime inundating Arab society and an alleged absence of police efforts to enforce the law in the country’s Arab towns and villages.
The spontaneous protests were eventually taken over by the town’s youth movement known as al-Haraq al-Fahmawi al-Muwahad. This Friday, things spun out of control. When clashes erupted with the demonstrators, the police apparently resorted to using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades. Knesset member Yousef Jabareen of the Joint List and current Umm al-Fahm Mayor Samir Mahameed were among some three dozen people who were injured by stun grenades or rubber bullets, with one young man evacuated to Haifa’s Rambam Hospital. After surgery, he is now in serious but stable condition.
According to a statement by the Israeli police, “The protests were marked by disturbances which included attempts to block the entrance to the city and Route 65. Rocks were also thrown at the police, leaving one officer lightly injured.” However, this statement seems to contradict several videos posted on social networks that show police shoving demonstrators, including men and women alike and a number of elected officials.
The Arab public was outraged, mostly at the police. There have been calls for a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident. The municipality announced that it was freezing all community policing initiatives for the next two weeks, while the youth movement began organizing next Friday’s demonstration, which is planned to include participants from across Arab-Israeli society and not just local residents.
