Netanyahu backs police after fatal shooting of Israeli Arab sparks clashes in Galilee

Police insist that officers' lives were in danger when the man attacked a police car
with a knife, but footage indicates officers may not have followed protocol.
By Noa Shpigel, Jack Khoury and Yaniv Kubovich | Nov. 8, 2014 | 9:30 PM |

16

Protesters hurl stones at police forces Kafr Kana, November 8, 2014. Photo by Gil
Eliahu
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Police arrest a protester in the Galilee village of Kafr Kana, Nov. 8, 2014. Photo by Gil
Eliahu
Police face protesters at Kafr Kana, November 8, 2014. Photo by Gil Eliahu
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A poster from Kafr Kana showing the youth who was shot by police. Photo by Jack
Khoury
The police shot and killed a 22-year-old man from the northern Arab village of Kafr
Kana in the early hours of Saturday morning, after he allegedly attacked a police car
with a knife.
However, CCTV footage may contradict the officers statement that a warning shot
was fired in the air before the man was fatally wounded.
A large protest was held in the Galilee village on Saturday to protest the shooting. At
its climax, clashes erupted between stone throwers and the large police force
stationed nearby. A general strike among Israeli Arabs was announced by The Higher
Arab Monitoring Committee, which called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
fire Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.
However, Netanyahu backed the officers and harshly criticized the protesters in
Kafr Kana. Israel is a state of law, he said. We wont tolerate disturbances and
riots. We will take action against stone throwers, those who block traffic arteries,

and those who call for establishing a Palestinian state in place of the State of Israel.
Whoever doesnt respect Israeli law will be punished to the fullest extent. I will
direct the interior minister to consider stripping the citizenship of those who call for
the destruction of the State of Israel.
Officers from the Nazareth police station were initially called to the village to arrest
another man in his twenties, on suspicion of throwing a stun grenade as part of a
family dispute. However, another youth, Khayr al-Din al-Hamdan, approached the
police car wielding a knife, according to the police.
A police spokesperson said the officers tried to stop the man by firing a shot in the
air, but when he didnt stop, they feared for their lives and shot at him.
Footage of event raises questions
However, CCTV footage does not seem to show the officers firing a warning shot
first. In the video, the youth is seen approaching the patrol car and stabbing at it
with what appears to be a knife. A police officer then emerges from the car. The
youth is seen running away from the vehicle and the officer appears to shoot at the
youth.
Hamdan was hit in the upper body and taken to Haemek Hospital, Afula, at around 1
A.M., in serious condition. He died from his wounds in hospital.
Even after seeing the CCTV footage, Israel Police insisted the officers lives were in
danger and that they shot in the air. They suspect, however, that the officers didnt
act according to protocol after the shooting. Also, the officers decided to get out of
the car immediately next to the youth, instead of keeping their distance. The footage
shows them dragging the youth to the police car, instead of calling an ambulance and
treating him on the scene.

Please note, video contains graphic content

The polices gun-firing regulations dictate that an officer must take several steps
before he is permitted to open fire with an intent to kill. The officer must give prior
warning to the subject before opening fire, shoot into the air, and then shoot toward
the subjects feet. Only after these three stages have been taken may the officer
take aim at the subjects upper body.
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