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Erez Levy 34
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Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an 47, Jan 18 2017 |
21 jan 2017
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A new video has emerged capturing the killing of Umm al-Hiran resident and local teacher Yaqoub Abu al-Qian who was shot to death by Israeli police on Wednesday, while his family continues to await the return of his body.
Ma’an obtained a video on Saturday that was filmed by a resident of Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran of the moment that al-Qian was shot, as dozens of gunshots are heard and Israeli police yelling “gunshots” and heading to the source. Israeli police claimed that the math teacher was carrying out a vehicular attack which killed police officer Erez Levi, 34, though a number of |
witnesses and Palestinian officials with Israeli citizenship have disputed Israeli security
forces’ version of events, saying that police officers opened fire on Abu al-Qian despite him not representing a threat, causing him to lose control of his vehicle and fatally hit Levi.
forces’ version of events, saying that police officers opened fire on Abu al-Qian despite him not representing a threat, causing him to lose control of his vehicle and fatally hit Levi.
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Meanwhile, Israeli police footage published by Israeli daily Haaretz on Wednesday, which they said was most likely from a police a helicopter hovering above the scene, appeared to show police officers shooting at al-Qian as he was driving at a very slow pace, and only several seconds after the gunfire does his car appear to speed up, eventfully plowing through police officers.
Abu al-Qian’s autopsy report was also released on Friday, detailing that the teacher had been killed by two bullets that were fired at his vehicle, the first of which struck him on his right knee, and the second in a main artery in the chest area, before he was left to bleed to death. Israeli Channel 10 reported that Abu al-Qian’s knee injury led to the acceleration of his vehicle after his leg pressed against the gas pedal, and |
added that he had lost large amounts of blood which would have made it impossible to save him.
Nevertheless, they reported that he had been left to bleed for a half and hour as ambulances were prevented from providing him first aid.
Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli police pulled an injured Abu al-Qian from his vehicle at the time and shot him another time to confirm his death. However, this testimony contradicts the autopsy report that stated he had bled to death.
Meanwhile, the family of Abu al-Qian have continued to refuse conditions set by Israeli police in order to receive the slain body of Abu al-Qian.
The Israeli police have refused to release his body unless the family agrees to limiting the attendants to the funeral to 50, holding it at night, and launching it from his mother’s home in Hura village, and not the ruins of his home in Umm al-Hiran, which was demolished following an Israeli demolition campaign in the village in the wake of violent clashes erupting on Wednesday.
The family has refused the pre-conditions for the funeral, with relative Najeh Abu al-Qian telling Ma’an on Friday that the Israeli police has attempted to exert pressure on the family to accept the conditions, but the family has continued to refuse.
On Thursday, the family demanded an investigation into his death, as witness testimony and video published by Haaretz, has contradicted claims made by Israeli police.
NGO Adalah -- The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, who is representing Abu al-Qian’s family, released a statement Thursday demanding an investigation be opened into the circumstances of the death of Abu al-Qian.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement at the time that “a vehicle driven by a terrorist from the Islamic Movement intended to strike a number officers and carry out an attack,” and that police officers responded by shooting and killing the driver.
According to the Adalah, the police video footage of the incident and eyewitness testimony reveal that police opened fire on Abu al-Qian's vehicle before he accelerated in the direction of officers. “This totally contradicts police claims that Abu Al Qi'an sought to ‘ram’ them with his vehicle,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, MKs Ahmad Tibi and Usama Saadi of the Joint List introduced a new bill on Thursday to the Knesset proposing a ten-year freeze on demolitions of homes built by Palestinians in Israel without government-issued permits in order to develop a comprehensive zoning and development plan.
“It’s not an accident that there are tens of thousands of homes with demolition orders against them” in Palestinian communities in Israel, Tibi told Israel Radio. “It’s not in their genes. There are no development plans, no zoning plans, no expansion.”
Rights groups have long claimed that demolitions in Bedouin villages unrecognized by Israel were a central policy aimed at removing the indigenous Palestinian population from the Negev and transferring them to government-zoned townships to make room for the expansion of Jewish-Israeli communities.
Groups such as the Negev Coexistence and Civil Equality Forum and the Coalition of Women for Peace placed responsibility for the deadly violence squarely on the Israeli government.
"The direct responsibility for today’s dangerous escalation and bloodshed at the village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev rests upon those who took the decision to destroy a Bedouin village which had existed for decades, completely raze and wipe it off the face of the earth, to expel the residents and establish a Jewish ‘community’ in its place,” Gush Shalom quoted the groups as saying at the time.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of the Middle East division of NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that the events at Umm al-Hiran followed “a pattern of excessive force used by the Israeli police.”
“As in the West Bank, Israel discriminates against Bedouins and Palestinians more generally inside its borders in its planning policies, which seek to maximize control of land for for Jewish communities. Israel should investigate the killings, hold those responsible to account, and abandon the discriminatory plan to raze Umm al-Hiran."
Nevertheless, they reported that he had been left to bleed for a half and hour as ambulances were prevented from providing him first aid.
Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli police pulled an injured Abu al-Qian from his vehicle at the time and shot him another time to confirm his death. However, this testimony contradicts the autopsy report that stated he had bled to death.
Meanwhile, the family of Abu al-Qian have continued to refuse conditions set by Israeli police in order to receive the slain body of Abu al-Qian.
The Israeli police have refused to release his body unless the family agrees to limiting the attendants to the funeral to 50, holding it at night, and launching it from his mother’s home in Hura village, and not the ruins of his home in Umm al-Hiran, which was demolished following an Israeli demolition campaign in the village in the wake of violent clashes erupting on Wednesday.
The family has refused the pre-conditions for the funeral, with relative Najeh Abu al-Qian telling Ma’an on Friday that the Israeli police has attempted to exert pressure on the family to accept the conditions, but the family has continued to refuse.
On Thursday, the family demanded an investigation into his death, as witness testimony and video published by Haaretz, has contradicted claims made by Israeli police.
NGO Adalah -- The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, who is representing Abu al-Qian’s family, released a statement Thursday demanding an investigation be opened into the circumstances of the death of Abu al-Qian.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement at the time that “a vehicle driven by a terrorist from the Islamic Movement intended to strike a number officers and carry out an attack,” and that police officers responded by shooting and killing the driver.
According to the Adalah, the police video footage of the incident and eyewitness testimony reveal that police opened fire on Abu al-Qian's vehicle before he accelerated in the direction of officers. “This totally contradicts police claims that Abu Al Qi'an sought to ‘ram’ them with his vehicle,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, MKs Ahmad Tibi and Usama Saadi of the Joint List introduced a new bill on Thursday to the Knesset proposing a ten-year freeze on demolitions of homes built by Palestinians in Israel without government-issued permits in order to develop a comprehensive zoning and development plan.
“It’s not an accident that there are tens of thousands of homes with demolition orders against them” in Palestinian communities in Israel, Tibi told Israel Radio. “It’s not in their genes. There are no development plans, no zoning plans, no expansion.”
Rights groups have long claimed that demolitions in Bedouin villages unrecognized by Israel were a central policy aimed at removing the indigenous Palestinian population from the Negev and transferring them to government-zoned townships to make room for the expansion of Jewish-Israeli communities.
Groups such as the Negev Coexistence and Civil Equality Forum and the Coalition of Women for Peace placed responsibility for the deadly violence squarely on the Israeli government.
"The direct responsibility for today’s dangerous escalation and bloodshed at the village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev rests upon those who took the decision to destroy a Bedouin village which had existed for decades, completely raze and wipe it off the face of the earth, to expel the residents and establish a Jewish ‘community’ in its place,” Gush Shalom quoted the groups as saying at the time.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of the Middle East division of NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that the events at Umm al-Hiran followed “a pattern of excessive force used by the Israeli police.”
“As in the West Bank, Israel discriminates against Bedouins and Palestinians more generally inside its borders in its planning policies, which seek to maximize control of land for for Jewish communities. Israel should investigate the killings, hold those responsible to account, and abandon the discriminatory plan to raze Umm al-Hiran."
20 jan 2017
Adalah Legal Center, which works in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948, filed on Friday a request with the Israeli High Court to release the body of martyr Yaqoub Abu al-Qiaan, 47, from Umm al-Hiran village in the Negev.
The petition asked for the delivery of the body of the martyr who was killed on Wednesday by the Israeli police to be buried "unconditionally".
The Center said that withholding Abu al-Qiaan's body offends the dignity of the dead, and doing this, the Israeli police blatantly abuse their powers.
The Israeli police required the martyr's body to be buried in the night and with the participation of a small number of mourners as a condition to release the body.
The Israeli police killed Abu al-Qiaan during the confrontations that took place in Umm al-Hiran village last Wednesday following the demolition of 18 Palestinian houses in the village.
According to the Israeli narrative, Abu al-Qiaan carried out a car-ramming attack killing an Israeli policeman and injuring another before he was fatally shot. Eyewitnesses said that the martyr was shot and severely injured before the car-ramming and the Israeli police denied him treatment and left him to bleed to death.
In the same context, the Beersheba District Court extended on Friday the detention of two Palestinian youths, who were arrested during the demolitions carried out in Umm al-Hiran village.
The radio said that the District Court overturned the Magistrate Court's decision to release the two young men, who were accused of attacking Israeli policemen in the village.
It pointed out that the detention of the two Palestinians was extended for four days pending further investigations.
The petition asked for the delivery of the body of the martyr who was killed on Wednesday by the Israeli police to be buried "unconditionally".
The Center said that withholding Abu al-Qiaan's body offends the dignity of the dead, and doing this, the Israeli police blatantly abuse their powers.
The Israeli police required the martyr's body to be buried in the night and with the participation of a small number of mourners as a condition to release the body.
The Israeli police killed Abu al-Qiaan during the confrontations that took place in Umm al-Hiran village last Wednesday following the demolition of 18 Palestinian houses in the village.
According to the Israeli narrative, Abu al-Qiaan carried out a car-ramming attack killing an Israeli policeman and injuring another before he was fatally shot. Eyewitnesses said that the martyr was shot and severely injured before the car-ramming and the Israeli police denied him treatment and left him to bleed to death.
In the same context, the Beersheba District Court extended on Friday the detention of two Palestinian youths, who were arrested during the demolitions carried out in Umm al-Hiran village.
The radio said that the District Court overturned the Magistrate Court's decision to release the two young men, who were accused of attacking Israeli policemen in the village.
It pointed out that the detention of the two Palestinians was extended for four days pending further investigations.
The family of slain Palestinian Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an, a resident of the village of Um al-Hiran in the Negev who was killed by Israeli police on Wednesday, refused the Israeli burial conditions.
Local sources affirmed that the family refused Israeli police orders to bury their son in Negev instead of his hometown of Um al-Hiran.
Qi’an was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in the early hours of Wednesday morning after his car allegedly struck and killed an Israeli police officer.
The incident occurred as Israeli police forces were demolishing eight homes in the village.
Local sources affirmed that the family refused Israeli police orders to bury their son in Negev instead of his hometown of Um al-Hiran.
Qi’an was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in the early hours of Wednesday morning after his car allegedly struck and killed an Israeli police officer.
The incident occurred as Israeli police forces were demolishing eight homes in the village.
19 jan 2017
Addressing an incident involving police shooting of a suspected terrorist, public security min. says they have ‘a fraction of a second’ to determine whether it is terror or criminal related.
Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan spoke out in defense of the Israel Police on Thursday morning, addressing an incident which took place a day prior during which a man, according to police, deliberately rammed his vehicle into policemen in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, killing 34-year-old Sgt. Maj. Erez Levi.
“A policeman is forced to decide in a fraction of a second whether he is facing a terror attack or a criminal incident,” Erdan said, alluding to the fact that the suspected terrorist, Yaqoub Musa Abu Alqiyan, was shot dead in circumstances that have yet to be fully clarified.
Speaking at a the inauguration ceremony of the "Elad" firefighting squadron, which is being transferred from the Air Force to police control, Erdan said: “The time has come for the State of Israel to have an internal air force with strong capabilities to defend us against challenges from within. The world is changing and with it, the threats.”
There are no more fronts and rears, Erdan averred. “Today, we have a civilian front: a firefighter who protects against arson terror (attacks) and a prison that prevents instructions from being given on the telephone from within jail to carry out attacks,” he added in reference to the ongoing investigation of MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) over suspicions that he smuggled phones and encrypted messages to terrorists serving sentences in Israeli jails.
Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh also spoke during the ceremony where he addressed Wednesday’s deadly incident.
“This is the fate of the police: Yesterday a fighter was buried, Erez Levi—may his memory be blessed—and there is one wounded, Uzi Ohana, who thank God is recovering and already by the morning we are dealing with the building of strength and commemoration.”
Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan spoke out in defense of the Israel Police on Thursday morning, addressing an incident which took place a day prior during which a man, according to police, deliberately rammed his vehicle into policemen in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, killing 34-year-old Sgt. Maj. Erez Levi.
“A policeman is forced to decide in a fraction of a second whether he is facing a terror attack or a criminal incident,” Erdan said, alluding to the fact that the suspected terrorist, Yaqoub Musa Abu Alqiyan, was shot dead in circumstances that have yet to be fully clarified.
Speaking at a the inauguration ceremony of the "Elad" firefighting squadron, which is being transferred from the Air Force to police control, Erdan said: “The time has come for the State of Israel to have an internal air force with strong capabilities to defend us against challenges from within. The world is changing and with it, the threats.”
There are no more fronts and rears, Erdan averred. “Today, we have a civilian front: a firefighter who protects against arson terror (attacks) and a prison that prevents instructions from being given on the telephone from within jail to carry out attacks,” he added in reference to the ongoing investigation of MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) over suspicions that he smuggled phones and encrypted messages to terrorists serving sentences in Israeli jails.
Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh also spoke during the ceremony where he addressed Wednesday’s deadly incident.
“This is the fate of the police: Yesterday a fighter was buried, Erez Levi—may his memory be blessed—and there is one wounded, Uzi Ohana, who thank God is recovering and already by the morning we are dealing with the building of strength and commemoration.”
18 jan 2017
Is there room in the Israeli public conversation for a Jewish radio program host to express a sense of identification with a Bedouin citizen of Israel?
Israel’s Army Radio fired a program host on Wednesday afternoon after she expressed empathy for a Bedouin man who was shot and killed during what police said was an attempted terrorist attack on them just hours earlier.
Khen Elmaleh was dismissed by Army Radio Commander Yaron Deckel after publishing a Facebook status sympathetic to a Bedouin driver whose car struck and killed 34-year-old police officer Erez Levy. “I would also run over a police officer if I were being removed from my home in order to make room for a town built for those more powerful than me,” she wrote.
Elmaleh was referring to the police shooting of Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an, a resident of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm el-Hiran in the Negev. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning as police forces were amassing to preside over the destruction of the village, which the government plans to replace with a town for Jewish citizens of Israel. Police claimed they opened fire on Abu Qi’an after he deliberately drove his vehicle toward a cluster of security forces at the scene.
But local residents and activists at the scene have vociferously denied the police narrative. According to eyewitnesses, Qi’an lost control of his vehicle after police opened fire. A video released by Channel 10 news later in the day appears to back the residents’ version. [Click here for more background on Umm al-Hiran]
After he fired Elmaleh, Army Radio Commander Yaron Deckel tweeted that those who support running over police have no place in the radio station. Elmaleh eventually deleted the status of her own accord.
Elmaleh, a prominent Tel Aviv-based DJ who hosts a weekly music program featuring popular Mizrahi and Arabic music, published her status alongside a famous photo of Shimon Yehoshua, a Mizrahi resident of the south Tel Aviv neighborhood Kfar Shalem, which was taken immediately after he was shot and killed by police at a protest against government evictions in 1982. Yehoshua’s home, like that of Abu Qi’an, was at imminent risk of demolition.
Elmaleh’s post was a sincere attempt at putting oneself in another’s shoes, but beyond that it also sought to draw a connection between the Bedouin struggle to remain on their land, and the decades-long Mizrahi struggle for public housing and against evictions. Perhaps Elmaleh thought that expressing empathy with those who have lost or are about to lose their homes — to try and imagine what it might feel like to fight a seemingly endless battle against a government that doesn’t exactly want you here — would strike a chord with Israeli Jews. Perhaps Elmaleh believed that there was solidarity to be had among the various groups living in Israel who are subject, day in and day out, to the brute force of the authorities.
But by early morning the politicians and media alike had already portrayed Abu Qi’an as an ISIS-supporting terrorist. Elmaleh, in effect, had crossed the Rubicon: she expressed support for the “enemy.”
By Wednesday evening, Elmaleh had published a lengthy response to her dismissal on Facebook, in which she fires back at the criticism leveled against her, and refuses to be painted as a “scandalous supporter of murder.” “I am not the story here,” she writes, “the story is anyone who has ever stood before eviction and destruction of his home… the issue is that Mizrahim, Bedouin, Arabs — the weakest sectors in the country — are helpless before large and violent forces, and they do not have enough power or a strong enough lobby to fight for their rights.”
“I do not support murder, and I will not let the headlines turn me into a supporter of murder,” Elmaleh continued, adding that today it may have been the Bedouin fighting for their rights, but “tomorrow it could be Mizrahi residents in south Tel Aviv. How easy is it to turn this whole discussion into one over a ‘vehicular attack.’
“I feel pain for everyone, all the victims of this situation, and I will never support murder. I identify with the frustration of those who stand helpless before the bulldozers, and the forces that threaten to destroy your home — whether spiritual or material — anywhere in this land.”
Israel’s Army Radio fired a program host on Wednesday afternoon after she expressed empathy for a Bedouin man who was shot and killed during what police said was an attempted terrorist attack on them just hours earlier.
Khen Elmaleh was dismissed by Army Radio Commander Yaron Deckel after publishing a Facebook status sympathetic to a Bedouin driver whose car struck and killed 34-year-old police officer Erez Levy. “I would also run over a police officer if I were being removed from my home in order to make room for a town built for those more powerful than me,” she wrote.
Elmaleh was referring to the police shooting of Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an, a resident of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm el-Hiran in the Negev. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning as police forces were amassing to preside over the destruction of the village, which the government plans to replace with a town for Jewish citizens of Israel. Police claimed they opened fire on Abu Qi’an after he deliberately drove his vehicle toward a cluster of security forces at the scene.
But local residents and activists at the scene have vociferously denied the police narrative. According to eyewitnesses, Qi’an lost control of his vehicle after police opened fire. A video released by Channel 10 news later in the day appears to back the residents’ version. [Click here for more background on Umm al-Hiran]
After he fired Elmaleh, Army Radio Commander Yaron Deckel tweeted that those who support running over police have no place in the radio station. Elmaleh eventually deleted the status of her own accord.
Elmaleh, a prominent Tel Aviv-based DJ who hosts a weekly music program featuring popular Mizrahi and Arabic music, published her status alongside a famous photo of Shimon Yehoshua, a Mizrahi resident of the south Tel Aviv neighborhood Kfar Shalem, which was taken immediately after he was shot and killed by police at a protest against government evictions in 1982. Yehoshua’s home, like that of Abu Qi’an, was at imminent risk of demolition.
Elmaleh’s post was a sincere attempt at putting oneself in another’s shoes, but beyond that it also sought to draw a connection between the Bedouin struggle to remain on their land, and the decades-long Mizrahi struggle for public housing and against evictions. Perhaps Elmaleh thought that expressing empathy with those who have lost or are about to lose their homes — to try and imagine what it might feel like to fight a seemingly endless battle against a government that doesn’t exactly want you here — would strike a chord with Israeli Jews. Perhaps Elmaleh believed that there was solidarity to be had among the various groups living in Israel who are subject, day in and day out, to the brute force of the authorities.
But by early morning the politicians and media alike had already portrayed Abu Qi’an as an ISIS-supporting terrorist. Elmaleh, in effect, had crossed the Rubicon: she expressed support for the “enemy.”
By Wednesday evening, Elmaleh had published a lengthy response to her dismissal on Facebook, in which she fires back at the criticism leveled against her, and refuses to be painted as a “scandalous supporter of murder.” “I am not the story here,” she writes, “the story is anyone who has ever stood before eviction and destruction of his home… the issue is that Mizrahim, Bedouin, Arabs — the weakest sectors in the country — are helpless before large and violent forces, and they do not have enough power or a strong enough lobby to fight for their rights.”
“I do not support murder, and I will not let the headlines turn me into a supporter of murder,” Elmaleh continued, adding that today it may have been the Bedouin fighting for their rights, but “tomorrow it could be Mizrahi residents in south Tel Aviv. How easy is it to turn this whole discussion into one over a ‘vehicular attack.’
“I feel pain for everyone, all the victims of this situation, and I will never support murder. I identify with the frustration of those who stand helpless before the bulldozers, and the forces that threaten to destroy your home — whether spiritual or material — anywhere in this land.”
Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an 47
Police shoot MK Ayman Odeh in the head with sponge-tipped bullet. Conflicting versions emerge of ‘car ramming’ and shooting that left one officer and a village resident dead.
Two people were killed and several others wounded when large numbers of police officers entered the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, in southern Israel, to demolish the village at dawn on Wednesday. Police fired tear gas, sponge-tipped bullets, and there were reports of live ammunition as well.
Police shoot MK Ayman Odeh in the head with sponge-tipped bullet. Conflicting versions emerge of ‘car ramming’ and shooting that left one officer and a village resident dead.
Two people were killed and several others wounded when large numbers of police officers entered the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, in southern Israel, to demolish the village at dawn on Wednesday. Police fired tear gas, sponge-tipped bullets, and there were reports of live ammunition as well.
Erez Levy 34
Police officers shot and killed a resident of Umm el-Hiran, Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an, claiming he drove his vehicle and struck and killed at least one officer. Police also quickly claimed, without offering any evidence, that Abu Qi’an had “connections” to ISIS. The police officer who was killed was named as 34-year-old Erez Levy.
However, local residents and activists at the scene deny the police version of events, saying that Qi’an’s car veered toward the officers only after he was shot and lost control of the vehicle.
Police officers shot and killed a resident of Umm el-Hiran, Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an, claiming he drove his vehicle and struck and killed at least one officer. Police also quickly claimed, without offering any evidence, that Abu Qi’an had “connections” to ISIS. The police officer who was killed was named as 34-year-old Erez Levy.
However, local residents and activists at the scene deny the police version of events, saying that Qi’an’s car veered toward the officers only after he was shot and lost control of the vehicle.
MK Ayman Odeh
Among those wounded was Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh, who police shot in the head and back with sponge-tipped bullets. Odeh was brought to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva in stable condition at the time of this report. The other casualties were both local residents and security forces.
Hundreds of fully armed police arrived at Umm el-Hiran around 5 a.m., pulling drivers out of vehicles, and attacking and threatening others, according to Israeli activist Kobi Snitz, who was in the village Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Shortly thereafter, shots were heard, Snitz said, adding that he saw a white pickup truck about 30 meters from police. “They started shooting at the car in bursts from all directions,” he said, adding that only after the driver appeared to have been wounded and lost control of his vehicle did it strike the police officers.
Police reportedly sealed the village off and barred any additional journalists from entering by mid-morning.
Snitz said that state authorities had been pressuring residents to sign an agreement to leave voluntarily up until around midnight Tuesday night, but that negotiations broke down.
MK Odeh showed up at Umm el-Hiran early Wednesday morning in order to stand alongside the villagers, who were told by Israeli authorities that the demolition would take place imminently.
By late morning, bulldozers, trucks, and demolition equipment had begun preparing to clear and demolish the village.
Among those wounded was Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh, who police shot in the head and back with sponge-tipped bullets. Odeh was brought to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva in stable condition at the time of this report. The other casualties were both local residents and security forces.
Hundreds of fully armed police arrived at Umm el-Hiran around 5 a.m., pulling drivers out of vehicles, and attacking and threatening others, according to Israeli activist Kobi Snitz, who was in the village Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Shortly thereafter, shots were heard, Snitz said, adding that he saw a white pickup truck about 30 meters from police. “They started shooting at the car in bursts from all directions,” he said, adding that only after the driver appeared to have been wounded and lost control of his vehicle did it strike the police officers.
Police reportedly sealed the village off and barred any additional journalists from entering by mid-morning.
Snitz said that state authorities had been pressuring residents to sign an agreement to leave voluntarily up until around midnight Tuesday night, but that negotiations broke down.
MK Odeh showed up at Umm el-Hiran early Wednesday morning in order to stand alongside the villagers, who were told by Israeli authorities that the demolition would take place imminently.
By late morning, bulldozers, trucks, and demolition equipment had begun preparing to clear and demolish the village.
Umm al-Hiran is one of dozens of so-called “unrecognized villages” in Israel’s south, in which approximately 100,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel live without electricity, water, and other basic services the state refuses to provide.
Here is a quick summary of this history of Umm al-Hiran: Long before the establishment of the State of Israel, members of the Abu Qi’an family lived in an area called Khirbet Zubaleh.
In 1956, the Israeli military government forcibly moved the Qi’an family to the location where they live today. (Their former land was given to Kibbutz Shoval as agricultural land.)
This forced land “swap” is well documented in state archives, but despite the fact that the Qi’an family was settled in its current location by the state itself, its homes have never been connected to the electricity or water grids.
In 2015 Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that the state can change its mind and take back the land it gave to the al-Qi’an family. In place of their current village, Umm el-Hiran, from which they are to be expelled, a new township for religious Jews will be established.
For the past few years, Jewish Hiran’s future residents have been waiting for their new homes at an encampment in the adjacent forest of Yatir.
“The government has no problem with Jewish citizens living on this property – so why should they have a problem with us?” Raed Abu al-Qi’an, a resident and activist from the village, told +972 in 2015. “They allow rural communities to be built for Jews across the Negev – why not us?”
“We have always said, and continue to say, that we have no objections to Jewish families living here or nearby us – but not in place of us. That is racism and injustice,” he added.
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man and Eli Bitan contributed to this report. A version of this article also appears in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.
Here is a quick summary of this history of Umm al-Hiran: Long before the establishment of the State of Israel, members of the Abu Qi’an family lived in an area called Khirbet Zubaleh.
In 1956, the Israeli military government forcibly moved the Qi’an family to the location where they live today. (Their former land was given to Kibbutz Shoval as agricultural land.)
This forced land “swap” is well documented in state archives, but despite the fact that the Qi’an family was settled in its current location by the state itself, its homes have never been connected to the electricity or water grids.
In 2015 Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that the state can change its mind and take back the land it gave to the al-Qi’an family. In place of their current village, Umm el-Hiran, from which they are to be expelled, a new township for religious Jews will be established.
For the past few years, Jewish Hiran’s future residents have been waiting for their new homes at an encampment in the adjacent forest of Yatir.
“The government has no problem with Jewish citizens living on this property – so why should they have a problem with us?” Raed Abu al-Qi’an, a resident and activist from the village, told +972 in 2015. “They allow rural communities to be built for Jews across the Negev – why not us?”
“We have always said, and continue to say, that we have no objections to Jewish families living here or nearby us – but not in place of us. That is racism and injustice,” he added.
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man and Eli Bitan contributed to this report. A version of this article also appears in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.
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