Israeli Arab protests intensify after fatal shooting

Israeli Arabs Protest in Kafr Kana After Man Killed by police.

Thousands took to the streets on Saturday and some threw rocks and lit fires at the entrance to Kafr Kana, in northern Israel, near a main road hours after Khayr al-Din al-Hamdan, an Israeli Arab, was shot by police.

The shooting took place after he attacked a police van with a sharp object, as they came to arrest a relative.

When the police got out of the car, he allegedly fled and was shot by an officer, before being put in the police van.

The incident was recorded on camera, and can be viewed here:

The aftermath of the shooting has resulted in mass protests and violent demonstrations by Israeli Arabs particularly in the Galilee (Northern Israel.)

The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, the sector’s top representative body, declared a general strike over the young man’s death.

The committee has also called Arabs in the north of Israel to take to the streets in protest of what it described as an unlawful killing.

According to i24 news, “sources in the Arab sector said Sunday they intend to continue rioting until the policemen involved in the shooting of al-Hamdan will be expelled.“

In response to the violent protests, Israel’s Prime Minister outlined a more hardline stance. He said that “We are not prepared to tolerate more demonstrations in the heart of our cities in which Hamas or ISIS flags are waved and calls are made to redeem Palestine with blood and fire, calling in effect for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

Benjamin Netanyahu concludes by saying that “Israel is a nation of law. Whoever violates the law will be punished severely. We will not tolerate disturbances and riots. We will take determined action against those who throw stones, firebombs and fireworks, and block roads, and against demonstrations that call for our destruction.”

Prime minister Netanyahu continues to say that “I have instructed the interior minister to use all means, including evaluating the possibility of revoking the citizenship of those who call for the destruction of the State of Israel.”