Arab Knesset member accuses Israel of 'terror'

An Arab-Israeli Knesset member on Friday accused Israel of committing “terrorism” over the deadly shooting of an Arab citizen in the northern Israeli town of Kafr Kanna last Saturday.

At a demonstration held in the northern Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm, Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi called for the dismissal of Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch over the deadly shooting of Khair al-Din Hemdan.

“We are not afraid of Israel, the terrorist state,” Zoabi, a Balad Party MP, told the gathering.

As many as 1,000 Arabs demonstrated against last week’s shooting, including Shiekh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel’s northern branch, and Arab-Israeli Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka.

A general strike was declared in all Arab towns across Israel on Sunday to protest the shooting of the 22-year-old.

Israeli police claim they had acted in self-defense after Hemdan tried to assault them with a knife during an attempt to arrest another Arab town resident.

Police say they first fired warning shots into the air, but had been forced to shoot on Hemdan once their lives were at risk.

The Islamic Movement in Israel held Israeli police responsible for the killing, while Mojahed Awawdeh, head of Kafr Kanna’s local council, said police had shot Hemdan at close range following a dispute.

“The whole thing started when a police car arrived at night to arrest an Arab man,” Awawdeh told Anadolu Agency.

“Hemdan had been at the scene and got into an argument with police, who shot him dead from a range of one meter,” he said.