Palestinians clash with Israeli forces in Jaffa after local shot dead by police
July 29, 2017 9:32 P.M. (Updated: July 29, 2017 9:35 P.M.)
▻http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=778431
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian citizens of Israel took to the streets in the Palestinian-majority city of Jaffa in Israel to protest against police brutality and racial profiling, after a man was shot dead in a police chase early Saturday morning, according to Israeli media reports.
Another man was reportedly moderately wounded by gunfire during the police chase. According to Israeli police, the two fled the scene of a criminally-motivated shooting on Yefet Street in Jaffa on motorcycles and were shot while being pursued.
Arab48 news reported that clashes broke out Saturday afternoon between outraged local protesters and Israeli police.
Demonstrators denounced Israeli police for using excessive force with impunity, and vowed not to remain silent to prevent unjustified police killings from becoming normalized.
A family member of the slain man, who was identified by Arab48 as 22-year-old Mahdi al-Saadi from Jaffa, told the news site that al-Saadi was killed “in cold blood” and posed no threat to police when he was shot dead. “They could have shot him in the foot and arrested him,” they said.
Masked protesters reportedly closed the main road in Jaffa with burning tires and garbage containers and smashed a police car windshield, according to Israeli news site Ynet.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri wrote in a statement that a group of young men threw stones at police officers, and that two suspected stone throwers were detained.
She said that as of Saturday evening, police continued to deploy heavily on Yefet street and the surrounding area to “maintain security and to respond to any possible scenario.”