Thousands take part in a demonstration tonight (Tuesday) near Tamra, in protest of the death of the late student Ahmad Hijazi, in a shooting incident with police forces tonight.
Roadblocks in Tamra in protest of Ahmed Hijazi’s death. Photo: Omar Assadi
The police updated that Road 65 is blocked from the Mei Ami junction to the Megiddo junction in both directions and Road 70 is blocked from the Abelim junction to the Yavor junction in both directions. Drivers are asked to choose alternative routes.
Meanwhile, police said the third suspect in the night’s shooting at police in the city was arrested. As you may recall, following the firing of criminal elements at the police forces, the police returned fire. As a result of the shooting, one of the suspects was killed and another was injured and arrested, along with the death of Hijazi, a 30-year-old nursing student, and the injury of another person who apparently got into the incident by mistake.
MK Jaber Asakla (joint list) is taking part in the demonstration and wrote on his Twitter account: “” I am currently with thousands of protesters at the Tamra junction. Citizens who shout an outcry of anger that have become a victim of ongoing contempt and neglect by law enforcement. “Frustrated citizens who do not feel safe leaving their homes because the police who need to keep them safe are doing the exact opposite.”
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I am currently with thousands of protesters at Tamra Junction.
Citizens who shout an outcry of anger that have become a victim of ongoing contempt and neglect by law enforcement. Frustrated citizens who do not feel safe to leave their homes because the police who need to keep them safe do the exact opposite. pic.twitter.com/huUI8CwUbo– Jaber Asaqla (@asaqla) February 2, 2021
Earlier today, the two policemen involved in the incident were questioned and released unconditionally, after several hours of interrogation in the DIP. The two claimed in their interrogation that they felt a real danger to their lives and therefore carried out the shooting.
The Northern District Police Chief, Superintendent Shimon Lavi, spoke on the matter and clarified that he backs up the conduct of the police in the incident. Among other things, Superintendent Lavi said that a harsh hand must be taken against anyone who attacks police officers and that “anyone who fires a police officer with a firearm is liable to die.” At the same time, he expressed regret over the death of civilian Ahmad Hijazi, who happened to be in the accident. The DIP is now investigating which bullets hit Hijazi, and whether it was a shooting by police forces or a shooting by the criminals at the scene.
“Police are not doing the job properly”
Muhammad Darawsha, chairman of the Ma’an party, spoke with Ben Caspit and Aryeh Eldad on 103fm and expressed his opinion on the Israel Police’s abilities to deal with the crime in the Arab sector.
The police officers who were involved in the shooting incident in Tamra were released this morning (Tuesday) without restrictive conditions at the end of their investigation. “We still do not know who shot that innocent man,” Darawsheh stressed following the incident, referring to the criticism leveled at police conduct. “70 percent of the shootings in Arab society that end in injuries or deaths are the result of chains of organized crime, in which the police know who the criminals are ahead of time. Most often these are people who have been involved in the shooting before.
“30 percent of the shootings are related to internal violence within Arab society, which must also know how to take responsibility and try to prevent these phenomena,” Dravasha said, but clarified: “Let us first address the great mass of crime in Arab society.”
Meanwhile, the election race continues, and the Ma’an party, which wants to represent parts of the Arab public, has not yet passed the blocking percentage. “Yesterday we had a poll that showed that we have already crossed the two and a half seats, we are on a steady path and on an upward trend,” Dravasha said of the data. “We have another 50 days to complete the job, we are starting to connect with the public despite all the difficulties of the Corona and the restrictions, and we are finally starting to appear in the polls in the last two days. It is a huge achievement, and I am sure we will be not only in the Knesset. .
Will the joint list fall apart just before the dissolution, and the RAAM party will run separately and take the seats of the Ma’an party? “Even if they run separately, they barely take one percent of us. I am not competing for the votes of the Ra’am party or of Hadash, “Darawshe said.” We are not looking for the Arabs who are connected to a religious, communist or nationalist ideology. I am looking for the public who think about how to deal with violence, how to deal with employment integration, how to solve the housing and education problems. “