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Erez Levy 34
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Yaqub Musa Abu Qi’an 47, Jan 18 2017 |
10 feb 2017
Father of Yacoub Abu al-Qee’an reportedly died Thursday morning, after succumbing to shock over the death of his son, who was killed while defending his village of Umm al-Hiran.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, a sword has hung over the heads of Umm al-Hiran’s 1,000 inhabitants for many months, now, as the Israeli government has advanced plans to raze the Palestinian Bedouin village of 150 homes and replace it with a town exclusive to Israeli Jews.
Video link via the Alternative Information Center: Akram Abu al-Qiyan, Umm al Hiran
Raed Abu al-Qee’an, Yacoub’s 40-year-old nephew, said that not only did the police kill him in cold blood, “but now they are holding his body hostage to try to make more convincing their ridiculous story that he is a terrorist.”
Al-Qee’an’s body was laid to rest Thursday afternoon, alas without a chance to bid farewell to his son.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, a sword has hung over the heads of Umm al-Hiran’s 1,000 inhabitants for many months, now, as the Israeli government has advanced plans to raze the Palestinian Bedouin village of 150 homes and replace it with a town exclusive to Israeli Jews.
Video link via the Alternative Information Center: Akram Abu al-Qiyan, Umm al Hiran
Raed Abu al-Qee’an, Yacoub’s 40-year-old nephew, said that not only did the police kill him in cold blood, “but now they are holding his body hostage to try to make more convincing their ridiculous story that he is a terrorist.”
Al-Qee’an’s body was laid to rest Thursday afternoon, alas without a chance to bid farewell to his son.
5 feb 2017
Dr. Amal Abu Saad
Criticizing officials' immediate leap to paint her deceased husband as a terrorist, Dr. Amal Abu Saad tells Ynet that her husband was clearly intending to visit his mother, not carry out an attack and calls for governmental inquiry.
The widow of Yaqoub Abu al-Qiyan, the Bedouin driver from Umm al-Hiran whose motives when running over an Israel Police officer have been the subject of much debate, called for an official governmental inquiry into the circumstances that led to her husband being shot dead.
Speaking to Ynet, Dr. Amal Abu Saad commented that her husband could not have carried out a terrorist attack. The incident is still under investigation by the Israel Police.
Abu Saad commented, "They're human, and they can make mistakes, but in the interim, they can't say without investigating whether he was a terrorist or not. It's important to us that the truth come out."
"Yaqoub didn't do anything; we've all seen in the video that he entered his car and intended to go to his mother's in Hura. In fact, he got together all his clothes and computer and the binder with the names of the students he teaches at school," the widow said. "We're fighting to clear his name and are also under threat and homeless. The situation is very difficult and very sad."
Abu Saad said that her family was still in Umm al-Hiran without a home after theirs was destroyed. "It's very difficult. There's barely any life there," she said. As for the relations with the police, she said, "In the meantime, they're saying that everything is under investigation, and we're strengthening ourselves with patience. We'll remain patient until we receive the answer from their investigation."
Criticizing officials' immediate leap to paint her deceased husband as a terrorist, Dr. Amal Abu Saad tells Ynet that her husband was clearly intending to visit his mother, not carry out an attack and calls for governmental inquiry.
The widow of Yaqoub Abu al-Qiyan, the Bedouin driver from Umm al-Hiran whose motives when running over an Israel Police officer have been the subject of much debate, called for an official governmental inquiry into the circumstances that led to her husband being shot dead.
Speaking to Ynet, Dr. Amal Abu Saad commented that her husband could not have carried out a terrorist attack. The incident is still under investigation by the Israel Police.
Abu Saad commented, "They're human, and they can make mistakes, but in the interim, they can't say without investigating whether he was a terrorist or not. It's important to us that the truth come out."
"Yaqoub didn't do anything; we've all seen in the video that he entered his car and intended to go to his mother's in Hura. In fact, he got together all his clothes and computer and the binder with the names of the students he teaches at school," the widow said. "We're fighting to clear his name and are also under threat and homeless. The situation is very difficult and very sad."
Abu Saad said that her family was still in Umm al-Hiran without a home after theirs was destroyed. "It's very difficult. There's barely any life there," she said. As for the relations with the police, she said, "In the meantime, they're saying that everything is under investigation, and we're strengthening ourselves with patience. We'll remain patient until we receive the answer from their investigation."
25 jan 2017
Palestinian member of the Knesset Talab Abu Arar raised doubts on Wednesday about Israeli police’s version of events regarding the death of an officer during a demolition raid earlier this month, implying that the officer may have been killed by friendly fire instead of a vehicular attack.
Israeli police officer Erez Levi was killed last week under widely contested circumstances during a violent demolition raid in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev that left more than a dozen Palestinian structures razed to the ground.
While Israeli authorities have claimed that Umm al-Hiran resident Yaqoub Abu al-Qian was shot and killed while carrying out a deliberate vehicular attack which killed Levi, numerous eyewitnesses have insisted that the Bedouin math teacher was posing no threat to anyone when Israeli police opened fire at his vehicle, causing him to lose control of the car and ram into officers.
Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that a senior police spokesman declined to say whether an officer wounded during the incident was run over Abu al-Qian’s vehicle or shot by other policemen, raising new questions about the police account of the raid.
Eyewitnesses from Abu al-Qian’s family told Ma’an that Israeli police officers were shooting “heavily” in all directions, and that they believed Levi could have been struck by Israeli bullets.
Abu Arar, a member of the Arab Joint List, which represents parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, told Ma’an on Wednesday that Israeli authorities “hurried” to bury Levi mere hours after the end of the unrest in al-Hiran.
He called on Israeli authorities to exhume the police officer’s body and proceed with an autopsy so as to determine the cause of death.
"The Israeli public should be able to know whether the police officer was killed as a result of being run over, or as a result of gunfire from other police officers who were firing in all direction," Abu Arar said.
The Abu al-Qian family has meanwhile demanded an investigation into the killing itself, and rights groups also announced on Monday that they had appealed to the Israeli Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department (PID) to open a criminal probe into how and why police allegedly shot MK Odeh during the Umm al-Hiran clashes.
The Umm al-Hiran raid has caused heightened emotions among the Israeli and Palestinian publics, with Israeli authorities claiming that Abu al-Qian was killed while carrying out a “terrorist attack,” while many Palestinians saw the incident as yet another instance of deadly Israeli police violence against Palestinian communities both in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Protests have erupted to denounce the demolitions in Umm al-Hiran, as well as other demolitions in Palestinian-majority towns in Israel.
Rights groups have long claimed that demolitions in Bedouin villages unrecognized by Israel are 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.
At a rally in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Knesset member and Palestinian citizen of Israel Issawi Freij claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been ramping up demolitions in an attempt to distract the Israeli public from an ongoing corruption investigation into himself.
“The prime minister wants to mark out an enemy on whom his voters can vent their anger,” Freij told hundreds of demonstrators.
Israeli police officer Erez Levi was killed last week under widely contested circumstances during a violent demolition raid in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev that left more than a dozen Palestinian structures razed to the ground.
While Israeli authorities have claimed that Umm al-Hiran resident Yaqoub Abu al-Qian was shot and killed while carrying out a deliberate vehicular attack which killed Levi, numerous eyewitnesses have insisted that the Bedouin math teacher was posing no threat to anyone when Israeli police opened fire at his vehicle, causing him to lose control of the car and ram into officers.
Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that a senior police spokesman declined to say whether an officer wounded during the incident was run over Abu al-Qian’s vehicle or shot by other policemen, raising new questions about the police account of the raid.
Eyewitnesses from Abu al-Qian’s family told Ma’an that Israeli police officers were shooting “heavily” in all directions, and that they believed Levi could have been struck by Israeli bullets.
Abu Arar, a member of the Arab Joint List, which represents parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, told Ma’an on Wednesday that Israeli authorities “hurried” to bury Levi mere hours after the end of the unrest in al-Hiran.
He called on Israeli authorities to exhume the police officer’s body and proceed with an autopsy so as to determine the cause of death.
"The Israeli public should be able to know whether the police officer was killed as a result of being run over, or as a result of gunfire from other police officers who were firing in all direction," Abu Arar said.
The Abu al-Qian family has meanwhile demanded an investigation into the killing itself, and rights groups also announced on Monday that they had appealed to the Israeli Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department (PID) to open a criminal probe into how and why police allegedly shot MK Odeh during the Umm al-Hiran clashes.
The Umm al-Hiran raid has caused heightened emotions among the Israeli and Palestinian publics, with Israeli authorities claiming that Abu al-Qian was killed while carrying out a “terrorist attack,” while many Palestinians saw the incident as yet another instance of deadly Israeli police violence against Palestinian communities both in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Protests have erupted to denounce the demolitions in Umm al-Hiran, as well as other demolitions in Palestinian-majority towns in Israel.
Rights groups have long claimed that demolitions in Bedouin villages unrecognized by Israel are 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.
At a rally in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Knesset member and Palestinian citizen of Israel Issawi Freij claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been ramping up demolitions in an attempt to distract the Israeli public from an ongoing corruption investigation into himself.
“The prime minister wants to mark out an enemy on whom his voters can vent their anger,” Freij told hundreds of demonstrators.
24 jan 2017
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Following a lawsuit by the family of a Bedouin man killed by Israeli forces, the Israeli High Court ordered the government to release his body to his family. The decision comes just as new video evidence emerges showing that the man who Israel had claimed was an attacker was actually shot by Israeli forces while driving slowly, and the gunshot wound in his knee caused his vehicle to accelerate into a squadron of Israeli police officers.
Initially, Israeli police forces had released a heavily-edited version of the police helicopter video of the incident, along with text describing the driver, the late Yacoub Mousa Abu al-Qee’an, 47, as a “terrorist”, and claiming that he intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the police officers and refused to heed orders to stop. |
But the video footage that was leaked to the media late last week shows a different scene than the one described by Israeli police. The part that was edited out was a number of shots fired by Israeli police toward the vehicle while al-Qee’an was driving slowly. It was only after those shots were fired that the vehicle began to accelerate, hitting the group of Israeli police officers resulting in one death.
The newly-released unedited video also bolsters a forensic report finding that al-Qee’an was shot in the knee, which may have caused his vehicle to accelerate unintentionally.
In the court ruling Monday that forced the Israeli government to release the body of al-Qee’an to his family for burial, the judge also denied the Israeli police request to place severe restrictions on the funeral and burial. The police had requested that the funeral be held only during daylight hours (Islamic tradition includes a family vigil with the body through the night until burial), with a limit on the number of attendees and a ban on electronic devices.
These are the same restrictions that Israeli forces have placed on the funerals of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces for alleged and attempted attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Many of the Palestinians killed during alleged attacks have not had their bodies returned to their families for burial.
The shooting of al-Qee’an last week took place during an invasion by Israeli forces of his family village. The troops were there to clear out the Bedouin families’ homes in order to make way for a Jewish-only town to be constructed in place of the village.
The newly-released unedited video also bolsters a forensic report finding that al-Qee’an was shot in the knee, which may have caused his vehicle to accelerate unintentionally.
In the court ruling Monday that forced the Israeli government to release the body of al-Qee’an to his family for burial, the judge also denied the Israeli police request to place severe restrictions on the funeral and burial. The police had requested that the funeral be held only during daylight hours (Islamic tradition includes a family vigil with the body through the night until burial), with a limit on the number of attendees and a ban on electronic devices.
These are the same restrictions that Israeli forces have placed on the funerals of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces for alleged and attempted attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Many of the Palestinians killed during alleged attacks have not had their bodies returned to their families for burial.
The shooting of al-Qee’an last week took place during an invasion by Israeli forces of his family village. The troops were there to clear out the Bedouin families’ homes in order to make way for a Jewish-only town to be constructed in place of the village.
22 jan 2017
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MK Ahmad Tibi in Umm al-Hiran
A bullet to the knee, fired before he accelerated may have caused Yaqub Abu Alkian's foot to push on the gas pedal; MK Ahmed Tibi says Erdan and Alsheikh should resign. The pathologist's report on Yaqub Abu Alkian from Umm al-Hiran strengthen the claim that his running over and killing an Israel Police officer was not a terrorist attack, contradicting the declarations of the police chief and the minister of public security. |
Last week, Abu Alkian was shot dead by police officers in an incident when he ran over their colleague Erez Levi in Umm al-Hiran.
Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and the minister who oversees his force, Gilad Erdan, both publicly declared that this was absolutely a terrorist attack.
However, aerial footage showed that police opened fire at Abu Alkian while was car was travelling slowly. Only after shots were fired at him did he suddenly accelerate and run over Levi. The post-mortem performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine found that a bullet wounded Abu Alkian in the knee that depressed the gas pedal. According to some assessments, this bullet to his leg may have been what caused him to accelerate. This has been referred to in Israeli media as "locking" his knee.
A source who has seen the pathologist's report said that it does not irrefutably state whether the bullet to the leg caused the crash, but the officials' steadfast assertions are not confirmed either.
Another detail that the report revealed is that a gunshot to Abu Alkian's chest caused massive bleeding that lasted for 20 to 30 minutes. When Magen David Adom paramedics were permitted to provide medical treatment, they only could declare the man dead. It is possible that Abu Alkian would have remained alive had medical teams been permitted to treat him sooner.
Erdan repeated on Saturday night that this was a vehicular terrorist attack: "The police immediately launched an investigation after a police officer was run over at the scene, which indicated that this was a planned vehicular attack of a terrorist."
Alsheikh, speaking Sunday morning, was somewhat more reserved in his pronouncements. He clarified that he originally termed Abu Alkian "a 'terrorist' because everything that we had seen before our eyes (said) that this was a vehicular attack, and there is not currently evidence that contradicts that." He specifically addressed the bullet to Abu Alkian's knee: "There's no such thing as the knee locking. To press on the gas, you need to apply pressure."
He further addressed the delay in providing medical attention, "I don't know what to say—if there was a delay in medical treatment, we'll know when the investigation is completed. Then we'll be able to know if something isn't all right…It could take a week or two."
MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) said on Saturday night, "I demand that Minister Erdan, the prime minister and the chief of police apologize to the Abu Alkian family and to the public. The clear finding requires personal drawing of conclusions amongst all those who rushed to claim that this was a terrorist, an attack, and ISIS. Yaqub, who was shot by the police, is a victim of the trigger happy and the immediate cover (provided)."
Speaking to Ynet on Sunday morning, Tibi insisted on the establishment of a governmental investigation into the matter. He said that Abu Alkian "was killed twice: once when he was shot and once when somebody decided to allow him to die, to kill him by not providing access to medical care."
He clarified his position on what he meant by "drawing conclusions," saying that it meant resignation or firing.
Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and the minister who oversees his force, Gilad Erdan, both publicly declared that this was absolutely a terrorist attack.
However, aerial footage showed that police opened fire at Abu Alkian while was car was travelling slowly. Only after shots were fired at him did he suddenly accelerate and run over Levi. The post-mortem performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine found that a bullet wounded Abu Alkian in the knee that depressed the gas pedal. According to some assessments, this bullet to his leg may have been what caused him to accelerate. This has been referred to in Israeli media as "locking" his knee.
A source who has seen the pathologist's report said that it does not irrefutably state whether the bullet to the leg caused the crash, but the officials' steadfast assertions are not confirmed either.
Another detail that the report revealed is that a gunshot to Abu Alkian's chest caused massive bleeding that lasted for 20 to 30 minutes. When Magen David Adom paramedics were permitted to provide medical treatment, they only could declare the man dead. It is possible that Abu Alkian would have remained alive had medical teams been permitted to treat him sooner.
Erdan repeated on Saturday night that this was a vehicular terrorist attack: "The police immediately launched an investigation after a police officer was run over at the scene, which indicated that this was a planned vehicular attack of a terrorist."
Alsheikh, speaking Sunday morning, was somewhat more reserved in his pronouncements. He clarified that he originally termed Abu Alkian "a 'terrorist' because everything that we had seen before our eyes (said) that this was a vehicular attack, and there is not currently evidence that contradicts that." He specifically addressed the bullet to Abu Alkian's knee: "There's no such thing as the knee locking. To press on the gas, you need to apply pressure."
He further addressed the delay in providing medical attention, "I don't know what to say—if there was a delay in medical treatment, we'll know when the investigation is completed. Then we'll be able to know if something isn't all right…It could take a week or two."
MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) said on Saturday night, "I demand that Minister Erdan, the prime minister and the chief of police apologize to the Abu Alkian family and to the public. The clear finding requires personal drawing of conclusions amongst all those who rushed to claim that this was a terrorist, an attack, and ISIS. Yaqub, who was shot by the police, is a victim of the trigger happy and the immediate cover (provided)."
Speaking to Ynet on Sunday morning, Tibi insisted on the establishment of a governmental investigation into the matter. He said that Abu Alkian "was killed twice: once when he was shot and once when somebody decided to allow him to die, to kill him by not providing access to medical care."
He clarified his position on what he meant by "drawing conclusions," saying that it meant resignation or firing.
Three Palestinians suffered injuries when Israeli policemen violently attacked “the march of anger” that was held on Saturday evening in Ar’ara town, northwest of the Green Line, in protest at the recent demolition of Palestinian homes.
According to Arab 48 website, more than 10,000 Palestinians participated in the march, which was called for by the High Follow-up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel and Arab parties and groups.
The march was staged to protest the racist demolition policy pursued by Israel against the Palestinians in general and the recent demolition of homes in Qalansuwa town in the Triangle and Umm Hiran village in the Negev in particular.
Photojournalist George Debs reportedly suffered an injury in his abdomen from a sponge-tipped bullet and two protestors were badly hurt during the police assault on the march.
During an oratorical festival held on the sidelines of the march, different speakers denounced what they described as Israel’s demolition crimes in Arab areas.
“This massive protest confirms our adherence to our right to live with dignity on our land. We have come here to give a thunderous cry against racism and against the killing practiced against us in cold blood,” Arab Knesset member Ayman Odeh stated in his speech.
“Living with dignity is our demand and right. This cry of ours is a cry of defiance against the demolition of our homes,” he added.
According to Arab 48 website, more than 10,000 Palestinians participated in the march, which was called for by the High Follow-up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel and Arab parties and groups.
The march was staged to protest the racist demolition policy pursued by Israel against the Palestinians in general and the recent demolition of homes in Qalansuwa town in the Triangle and Umm Hiran village in the Negev in particular.
Photojournalist George Debs reportedly suffered an injury in his abdomen from a sponge-tipped bullet and two protestors were badly hurt during the police assault on the march.
During an oratorical festival held on the sidelines of the march, different speakers denounced what they described as Israel’s demolition crimes in Arab areas.
“This massive protest confirms our adherence to our right to live with dignity on our land. We have come here to give a thunderous cry against racism and against the killing practiced against us in cold blood,” Arab Knesset member Ayman Odeh stated in his speech.
“Living with dignity is our demand and right. This cry of ours is a cry of defiance against the demolition of our homes,” he added.
