1 of 3 | Bedouin women stand in front of houses demolished by Israeli police in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, in the Negev desert Tuesday. Violent clashes Wednesday resulted in the death of a police officer and of a local resident who police said tried to ram his car into security forces. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI |
License Photo
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A police officer and a Bedouin villager were killed Wednesday in a clash over the demolition of illegally built structures in Umm al-Hiran, Israel, officials said.
The unrest occurred in an unrecognized Bedouin community, one of hundreds in Israel's southern Negev desert. After the Israeli Supreme Court declared that a local Bedouin tribe had no rights to the land, even though the Israeli army moved them to the area in the 1950s, the tribe was ordered to move elsewhere. The community is regarded by the government as illegal, and demolitions of houses are common as a new and largely Jewish town is being constructed on the site.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said during the confrontation Wednesday, a car struck a police officer as it headed toward several officers; the officer died and the driver was shot to death by police moments later.
"A vehicle driven by a terrorist from the Islamic Movement intended to strike a number of officers and carry out an attack," Rosenfeld said in a statement, referring to an organization banned in northern Israel for terrorist acts including vehicle rammings. "The officers responded and the terrorist was neutralized."
The police officer who died was identified as Sgt. Maj. Erez Levi, 34. The driver was identified as Yaakub Abu al-Qiyan, but local Bedouin leaders denied that al-Qiyan was a terrorist or that he deliberately drove his vehicle into the police officers. They added police were shooting at the vehicle before anyone was struck.
About 240,000 Israeli citizens are Bedouins who say the demolitions are part of an Israeli plan to push Muslim tribes from their ancestral lands. The razing of homes is prompting Bedouins in Israel to identify with Palestinians in the West Bank whose communities have been declared illegal and ready for demolition, the BBC said.
Ayman Odeh, a Muslim member of the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, was injured after the car incident. He said he was struck by rubber bullets fired by police; the police said he was injured by rocks thrown by protestors. Another Knesset member present, Hanin Zoabi, said, "This is all part of plan to rid the Negev of Palestinians, to expel us and replace us with Jews."
Odeh, present to support the demonstration of about 1,000 villagers, said the police used excessive force, adding, "Police officers fell upon me, beat me, shot me. They shot me brutally. But I am less important. What is important is that two people may have been killed there. It's a shame they're destroying everything."
