Israel (Palestinian) Archives - Israel-Palestine Timeline

Diar Omari

May 6, 2023May 7, 2023 contact@ifamericansknew.org

May 06, 2023: Diar Omari, 20, a Palestinian resident of the village of Sandala, part of the Gilboa Regional Council in northern Israel, was shot and killed by an Israeli paramilitary colonial settler from the nearby Israeli colony Gan Ner.

The victim was identified as Diar Omari, 20, a Palestinian-Israeli citizen from Sandala, not far from Affula in the Northern District. He leaves behind two sisters and his parents.

According to local sources, Amri was critically wounded by multiple gunshots and was taken to HaEmek Medical Center in Afula, where he was declared dead.

Israeli police said it arrested a 32-year-old Israeli man suspected of being the shooter.

The Israeli gunman is a reserve soldier with the Golani Brigade of the Israeli army and was discharged just a few days ago.

He was not named, but the police said he had a handgun, suspected of being the gun used to shoot Omari.

The attack took place after a traffic incident; both men had been driving cars but got out, and the Israeli man got out his gun and began shooting at the Palestinian, fatally wounding him.

One of Diyar’s relatives told the Arabs48 News website said the whole issue started after a simple traffic incident before the two argued and the Diyar started walking to his car to leave the area and avoid further tension, but the Israeli shot him without justification since it was clear he was not in any danger.

A video released on social media showed the two men arguing, and then the Israeli human pulled out a gun and opened fire at Diar.

The incident could have ended without a fatality if the Israeli gunman did not use his weapon not only to shoot the young man but to inflict fatal wounds, especially since he fired several rounds at him.

Following the shooting, protests began in the village of Sandala. Israeli police deployed into the village, assaulted many Palestinians who protests the young man’s murder, and detained three.

The Israeli police did not reveal sufficient information but said the Israeli who fatally shot Omari claimed: “he killed him in self-defense after feeling his life was in danger,” and added that the officers took the gun he used in the shooting.

The police also detained two persons who allegedly hurled stones at Israeli cars while protesting the young man’s death and called on the Israelis Gan Ner settlement, south of Affula, to remain in their colony until the situation calms down.

Diar was from Sandala, not far from Affula in the Northern District. Source: IMEMC

Mo’taz Khawaja

March 10, 2023May 23, 2023 contact@ifamericansknew.org

March 10th, 2023: Mo’taz Khawaja, 23, was shot and killed by Israeli police in Tel Aviv after allegedly shooting three Israelis, one of whom later died from his wounds.

According to Israeli sources, a 23-year old Palestinian man, identified as Mo’taz Khawaja, allegedly opened fire on a group of Israelis on a crowded street in Tel Aviv.

Mo’taz was killed by Israeli police at the scene, and Or Eshkar, 32, was killed as a result of the attack, succumbing to his wounds 11 days later.

The three Israelis who were shot were three friends in their thirties. The three were rushed to the Ichilov hospital after medics administered emergency first aid to two of the men, who were lying on the ground.

The incident took place on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv.

The Tel Aviv Israeli police commander stated, “Tel Aviv naturally is always a target and despite our being on high alert, we had no prior knowledge of the attack”.

After taking Hawaja into custody, Israeli forces invaded his home village and raided his family home, ransacking belongings and assaulting his family members.

Just a few blocks from the shooting, a protest was taking place when the incident occurred. The protest was challenging the Israeli government’s corruption, and was not affiliated with the attack at the cafe.

One nearby resident told Ha’aretz that he heard eight shots fired, and came outside and saw two men lying on the ground.

Soon after the incident, Israelis gathered at the scene and chanted “Death to Arabs”, while waving the Israeli flag.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (the main target of the anti-corruption protesters), who is currently in Rome, stated, “There has been a grave incident in Tel Aviv, A terror attack. We commend the police and security forces fighting terrorists this evening and everywhere. I am certain this will not weaken our resolve to continue building our country and securing our future.”

In the three days prior to this shooting, Israeli troops killed ten Palestinians and wounded dozens more with live ammunition, mainly in Jenin, in the northern West Bank. No Israelis were killed in that time period.

Mo’taz is from the village of Nil’in, in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Hussein Khaled Qaraqe’

February 10, 2023February 23, 2023 contact@ifamericansknew.org

February 10, 2023: Hussein Khaled Qaraqe’, 31, from Al-Isawiya town in Jerusalem, was shot and killed by multiple Israeli gunmen after his vehicle ran off the road and struck a crowded bus stop of Israelis, killing a six-year old child and a 20-year old man, and wounding several others.

According to an eyewitness, Hussein, who was driving the car, tried to indicate to the Israelis around the crashed car, many of whom were armed, that it was an accident and not to shoot him. But after a rock was thrown at the car, and the driver moved, he was shot by multiple shooters and killed.

The Israelis who were killed in this incident have been identified as six-year old Yaakov Paley, from Ramot, and Alter Shlomo Liderman, 20, from Jerusalem.

Yaakov’s funeral was held on Friday afternoon, with family members in attendance.and was restricted to family members and neighbors. Alter was a newlywed, who was married four months earlier.

Yaakov’s brother Asher Menachem Paley, 8, who was critically injured in the attack succumbed to his wounds, Saturday, February 11.

One eyewitness told the Israeli paper Ha’aretz that at first, it appeared to be an accident when the vehicle ran off the road and onto the crowded bus stop.

Alter Shlomo, one of the two Israelis killed

Another eyewitness told reporters, “For about a minute, several people with guns stood around the vehicle and pointed at the driver, but did not shoot. The driver made a sign with his hands as if to say ‘no,’ and everyone held their fire. At some point, someone threw a large stone at the vehicle, the attacker moved, and everyone fired at him.”

The driver of the vehicle, a 31-year Palestinian construction worker and father of three, had been injured six months before in a construction accident. He had been renting an apartment in Jerusalem to be able to get to job sites without having to cross from his hometown in al-Isawiya each day and potentially get stopped at a checkpoint and unable to make it to work.

Following the incident, which was either an accident or a so-called ‘lone wolf’ attack, Israeli security officials met to discuss the punishment they are planning for the besieged Palestinian population living under Israeli martial law in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that he had given an order for Israeli police to establish checkpoints throughout the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Isawiya “and to stop everyone one by one, and just check each vehicle.”

These types of checkpoints, particularly on Friday afternoon, wreak havoc on the commutes of thousands of workers, teachers and students trying to get home.

Israeli troops invaded the home of the Palestinian driver Hussein Khaled Qaraqe’ and dragged out his wife, father and two brothers, in front of the three young children. The soldiers took them to a military base for so-called ‘enhanced interrogation’.

In at-Tour village, where other relatives of the deceased Khaled Qaraqe’ reside, Israeli troops invaded and abducted an additional six family members.

According to the Jerusalem Post, two children were listed as critically injured in the attack, two adults were seriously injured, and two suffered moderate wounds before the child, a six-year-old boy, and the young man succumbed to their wounds.

Israeli Ynet News said soldiers and police officers were searching for “other potential suspects,” adding that they entered a synagogue with their guns drawn during the search.

Also Friday, an Israeli colonizer rammed a Palestinian with his car in the Qalqas area, south of Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank. Medical sources said the Palestinian, Sufian Mohammad Al-Jo’ba, 38, suffered a fracture in his arm and was moved to a hospital in the city.

Hussein was from Al-Isawiya town in Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC, Times Of Israel

Naim Mahmoud Bedir

December 23, 2022January 5, 2023 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 23, 2022: Naim Mahmoud Theeb Bedir, 23, was shot and killed by Israeli police before dawn in Kafr Qassem, in the Southern Triangle area (inside the undeclared borders of what is now Israel), claiming that he was trying to carry out a ramming attack against the police.

The man’s family rejected the Israeli narrative, saying, “The Israeli police killed our son in cold blood, and the police story that he tried to attack them is false.”

The family told reporters, “The Israeli police, after killing our son Naim in cold blood, stormed our home and ransacked all our belongings in front of the children, who were screaming and crying, terrified as the soldiers destroyed our home.”

During the home invasion, the Israeli police abducted several of Naim’s family members to bring them back to the police station for questioning. Israeli forces are known for their torture techniques, which they call ‘enhanced interrogation.’

The police claimed that Badir called the police, saying that a violent incident had occurred, but that when the police arrived, he ran towards them with a weapon and then got into his car and drove toward the police, mildly injuring two.

The police further claimed that two of its members were slightly injured and were subsequently transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. The police spokesperson said that the district commander then arrived at the site and conducted a field assessment of the situation.

The police then deployed dozens of its members in the village of Kafr Qassem, sent reinforcements, including members of the special units, and turned the city into a military base, according to local sources.

According to the Israeli police, a search of a building near where Badir was killed turned up “a weapon, ammunition, Molotov cocktails, and a knife.” But there is no evidence that Badir was in that building.

A video clip taken from the scene shows a number of Israeli police officers shooting live rounds into a Palestinian vehicle as it is moving backward.

The Israeli police said that they considered the incident in Kafr Qassem as a “hostile sabotage operation,” noting that after the attack, the police conducted searches for other suspects.

Naim was from Kafr Qassem, in what is now Israel. Source: IMEMC

Issa Hani Talqat

November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

November 30, 2022: Issa Hani Talqat, 13, On Wednesday, a Palestinian child from the Negev died during surgery at the Israeli Soroka Medical Center a month after an Israeli police officer shot him with live fire in Arara town in the Negev, during celebrations after the Knesset election.

Issa Hani Talqat, 13, suffered serious wounds when an Israeli police officer shot him on November 1^st, 2022, after exit polls were published, and United Arab List (Ra’am) only won five Knesset seats.

The Israeli police claimed that the officers fired at a car “driving wildly” and “believed that the life of an officer was endangered.”

Eyewitnesses said the child was walking on the sidewalk and not in the car when the officers opened fire and shot him in the neck.

The Times Of Israel said the child’s condition initially improved but had several scheduled difficult surgeries and died just minutes after the surgeons started surgery to install a feeding tube in his body.

It added that the officer who injured the child was questioned by the “Internal Investigations Department,” which is part of the “Justice Ministry” that investigates police wrongdoing in Israel, and the officer claimed he “suspected one of the drivers tried to run him over.”

Locals in the Arab town said the police had no reason to open fire and that the child had no connection with the alleged wild driver, adding that several police officers tried to stop one of the speeding cars and fired at it when the driver did not stop.

The child’s uncle, Riyad, said his slain nephew child was walking on the side of the road heading home when he was shot and seriously injured and added that Issa was recovering and even started walking while attached to a medical device, but then he suffered complications and died during surgery.

Riyad stated that the investigation could reveal whether the child died of medical negligence or other causes, adding that “no matter what eventually led to his death, the police should not have opened fire, and they are responsible for his death.”

Issa was from Arara, in the Negev in southern Israel. Source: IMEMC

Sa’diyya Farajallah

July 2, 2022September 11, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 02, 2022: Sa’diyya Farajallah, 68, died in an Israeli prison less than seven months after Israeli soldiers abducted her. Sa’diyya was the oldest female detainee imprisoned by Israel.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Sa’diyya, from Ethna town west of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, died at the ad-Damoun Israeli prison.

The PPS stated that Farajallah, a married mother of eight, was the oldest Palestinian female detainee in Israeli prisons and that she was abducted by the Israeli soldiers on December 18, 2021, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, after she was injured when many illegal Israeli colonizers attacked her.

Update: On Thursday August 11, 2022, Israel released her corpse before the Palestinians held her funeral procession after the deceased was examined by specialist at the Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron. Read More

The Israeli authorities prevented her family from visiting her throughout her imprisonment; she died at the Damoun Israeli prison.

The woman had diabetes and high blood pressure, diabetes, a heart condition, and various chronic illnesses, and was taking various medications before she was taken, prisoner.

Akram Samara, a lawyer of the Palestinian Detainees Committee, said he saw her last time last Tuesday in court, adding that she was in a wheelchair, unable to speak, and looked very fragile.

Samara said the Israeli authorities refused to provide medical reports detailing her health condition and were denying her the right to medical treatment during her imprisonment.

Her family held Israel accountable for her death, especially since she was denied access to medical attention and her medications and called on the International Community to act and help save the lives of the Palestinian detainees, especially the ones holding extended hunger strikes demanding an end to their arbitrary Administrative Detention without charges or trial.

Sa’diyya died at the Damoun Israeli prison after eight months in prison, including two months in solitary confinement despite her health and chronic conditions.

Her brother, Taiseer Farajallah, demanded an autopsy to know the cause of death and added that the soldiers repeatedly struck and beat his sister, after they claimed she tried to stab a colonizer, near the Ibrahimi Mosque while she was on her way to visit her two married daughters, living in the Old City of Hebron.

“My sister was a woman who struggled to provide for her family despite the dire financial situation,” Taiseer stated.

Sa’diyya’s son, Mohammad, described what happened to his mother as a crime and that his family was not allowed to visit her, adding that when they saw her in court and were not allowed to talk to her, she looked very weak and extremely ill, even unable to speak.

Her death brings the number of detainees who died in Israeli prisons since 1967 to 230.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) called for an immediate investigation into her death.

The PPS quoted a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society stating that a court hearing was held last Tuesday for Sa’diyya, who is the eldest among the female prisoners detained in the Israeli jails.

The statement added that she attended the hearing in a wheelchair, and her lawyer had already asked the Israeli prison service to refer her to a doctor after her medical examinations showed that her health condition was getting worse due to high diabetes and pressure.

“The Israeli Prosecution asked in the hearing that she should be sentenced to five years in prison and 15,000 shekels fine, in compensation; however, no definitive sentence has been so far issued,” the PPS said.

Sa’diyya was among twenty-nine female detainees, including Maysoun Mousa from Bethlehem, who was taken prisoner in 2015 and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, in addition to Shorouq al-Badan and Bushra Tawil, who are held under the Administrative Detention orders without charges or trial.

Israel is also still holding captive ten Palestinian mothers and a female child Nofouth Hammad, 15, who was tortured during interrogation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah held Israel responsible for her death and called on the International Community to investigate her death and ensure the release of all female detainees, children, elders, and ailing political prisoners.

Sa’diyya was from Ethna town west of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Source: IMEMC

Abdullah Tayseer Mousa Srour

April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

April 12, 2022: Abdullah Tayseer Mousa Srour, 41, was killed by Israeli police officers after they invaded a construction site, looking for people with no entry or work permits, in Asqalan (Ashkelon) city.

Eyewitnesses said the Police invaded the construction site to look for Palestinian workers who have no permits and shot one after he reportedly refused to show him his ID card.

Abdullah worked in Amman – Jordan, selling car parts and fixing cars, and used to come to Palestine to work in construction for a few months of the year for the last four years.

The family said he had no political affiliation and was a hardworking man trying to survive and support his family.

The police claim that the worker was “behaving suspiciously,” “had a knife,” and “stabbed an officer,” causing a mild injury before he was fatally shot.

The Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Barlev “congratulated” the officer who killed Mousa and said he “prevented an attack with his own body…” Israeli National News said.

Shaher Sa’ad, the secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, denounced the escalating Israeli volition against the Palestinian workers and added that the Israeli Police has been invading construction sites and interrogating the Palestinian workers while checking for permits in addition to repeatedly assaulting and detaining them.

“Abdullah worked hard to support his family, living in Jordan because Israel refused to grant them family reunification documents; he was an electrician and was trying to support his wife and son,” Sa’ad said, “This policy of killing our people, our workers, is a serious violation of International Law; “Palestinian workers are looking for their daily bread to feed their families and support them.”

Abdullah, a Palestinian who also holds Jordanian citizenship, was from Hebron, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Ra’ad Fathi Khazem

April 8, 2022September 28, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

April 8, 2022: Ra’ad Fathi Khazem, 29, was shot and killed by Israeli forces while hiding near a mosque in Jaffa. He was accused of having carried out an attack on Israelis at a popular bar and restaurant strip in Tel Aviv the previous night.

Three Israelis were killed in the attack, in which a shooter fired randomly at passers by on a busy street filled with bars and restaurants. A Palestinian man who Israeli police identified as the assailant was shot and killed by Israeli forces before dawn the following morning.

On Friday, Barak Lofen, 35, died at the Sourasky Medical Center from serious wounds sustained during the shooting. Israeli sources said Lofen was a former Olympian kayaker and represented Israel in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics.

Originally from Kibbutz Ginossar, Barak lived in Givat Shmuel, and was a married father of three children.

One of the Israelis killed in the attack was identified as 28-year-old old Tomer Morad, originally from Kfar Saba. Morad was an employee at Ilka Bar, on Dizengoff Street. Israeli soldiers said Eitam Megini, 27, from Kfar Sava, a childhood friend of Tomer, was also killed in the shooting attack.

The Israeli forces had searched the city for hours after a man shot and killed two Israelis and wounded 8 others in a mass shooting in Tel Aviv (one of the wounded died the following day of his injuries).

Israeli troops located 29-year-old Ra’ad Fathi Hazem, from Jenin refugee camp, near a mosque in Jaffa (the Palestinian city that was originally located in the place where Tel Aviv was built by Israeli colonizers and is now considered a ‘suburb’ of Tel Aviv).

The shooting took place at two locations on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, which is a street with several bars and restaurants.

According to Israeli sources, when he was discovered, Hazem fired ten bullets toward the officers who found him hiding near the mosque, and the Israeli police officers then shot and killed him.

Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters after Hazem was killed on Friday, “After a difficult night, and after long hours of joint activity by the Israel Police, the Shin Bet, and the [Israeli military], we succeeded this morning, in operational and intelligence cooperation, in closing a circle and eliminating the terrorist by exchange of fire. We emphasized that no matter how much it takes, we will catch the terrorist, alive or dead, and indeed the contact this morning was a quick and determined response from the Shin Bet and YAMAM fighters in Jaffa.”

Following the shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli authorities called up hundreds of special forces soldiers, many of whom lined areas near the Wall that Israel has constructed to separate and annex Palestinian land. They were there to prevent Palestinians from crossing through from the West Bank into what is now Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the fatal shooting and said, “the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians will only lead to further deterioration,” and added, “We are seeking stability, especially during Ramadan and the upcoming Jewish and Christians holidays.”

He added that the ongoing Israeli invasions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the escalating provocation by the illegal colonizes and the policies will only lead to further tension and instability.

“Only real and comprehensive peace will lead to stability,” Abbas said, “this is the shortest and safest road to security, peace, and stability, not only for the Palestinians and the Israelis but also to the entire region.”

Ra’ad was from Jenin, in the northern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Dia’ Hamarsha

March 30, 2022March 31, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

March 30, 2022: Dia’ Hamarsha, 27, was shot and killed by an Israeli police officer after allegedly shooting to death five Israelis in a suburb of Tel Aviv. This was the third attack in three days, and Israel declared the highest level of alert in light of the developments.

Israeli sources identified the Israelis killed as Yaakov Shalom, 36, Avishai Yhezkel, 29, from Bnei Brak, officer Amir Khouri, 32, from Nazareth.

The remaining two are Ukraine Nationals whose names are yet to be officially released. Only referred to, so far, as Shasha and Dima, two workers from Ukraine who were eating outdoors.

An Israeli police spokesperson said the Palestinian young man carried the fatal shootings out in two areas in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, and added that one of the Israelis killed in the attack was an officer who tried to stop the attack.

The spokesperson added that the four other Israeli civilians were shot dead by the Palestinian.

Israeli daily Haaretz said footage from the scene shows the Palestinian armed with an assault rifle before entering a convenience store and shooting one young man who fled to a nearby building.

“The shooter then aimed his rifle at another person riding on a bike but missed and opened fire at a passing car. The car stopped after the initial fire, at which point the assailant came closer to it and fired through the window at the driver, who was killed,” Haaretz added.

Haaretz quoted the Israeli police stating that the Palestinian was shot dead by an officer, identified as Amir Khoury, 32.

The Palestinian who carried the shooting out was identified as Dia’ Hamarsha, 27, from Ya’bad town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. In 2013, he was detained by Israel and spent six months in prison.

The police initiated massive searches in the area and detained a Palestinian construction worker who had no work permit but apparently had nothing to do with the shooting.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a meeting with the Army Chief of Staff and the head of the Shin Bet security service, the head of military intelligence, and the head of military operations to assess the situation.

Haaretz said the Israeli Security Cabinet plans to hold a meeting to discuss the fatal attack and assess the situation.

Israeli Ynet News stated that Magen David Adom paramedics said they found the corpses of the Palestinian and one Israeli in Hertzl Street in Bnei Barak.

It added that another Israeli was found dead inside his car, and two Israelis were shot dead on Bialik Street in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox city.

The Ynet stated that another Israeli was seriously injured after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his body and was rushed to Beilinson Hospital in critical condition.”

Hours after the fatal shooting, dozens of Israeli military vehicles were deployed around Ya’bad town, before isolating the entire area.

In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, illegal Israeli colonizers attacked and caused damage to dozens of Palestinian cars and closed many roads in several parts of the city and its surrounding areas.

The colonizers also attacked and caused damage to many Palestinian cars near Ramallah, in the central West Bank, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus in the northern part of the occupied territory.

One Palestinian, Zaki Abdul-Rahim Oleiwi, 41, was also injured after several colonizers attacked him near Shavei Shomron illegal colony, built on Palestinian lands northwest of Nablus.

The Palestinian, from Sebastia town near Nablus, suffered a fracture in the army and several bruises before he was rushed to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.

In occupied Jerusalem, an Israeli colonizer rammed a Palestinian with his car at the al-Ezariyah junction, while many colonizers hurled stones at Palestinians and their cars in the at-Tour town and several other areas, causing damage.

The Palestinian, Fadi Damiri from Silwan town, was rushed to a hospital in Jerusalem.

Israeli soldiers also abducted a young Palestinian man in the Bab al-Amoud area, in Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the shooting and stated that the ongoing killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians would only lead to further deterioration and expressed his support for all efforts that would lead to achieving stability and avoiding escalation, especially due to the upcoming Jewish, Christian, and Islamic holidays.

Abbas also warned that illegal Israeli colonizers in the West Bank would likely escalate their ongoing violations and attacks against the Palestinians.

“Comprehensive and just peace is the shortest and fastest way to achieve security and stability for the Palestinians and the Israelis,” he added.

Dia’ was from Ya’bad town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Ghaleb Abu al-Kian

March 24, 2022March 27, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

March 24, 2022: Mohammad Ghaleb Abu al-Kian, 34, was shot and killed by a bystander after he killed four Israelis in Beersheba, in southern Israel.

According to Israeli media, al-Kian was driving a car, and ran over Rabbi Moshe Kravitsky, who was riding a bicycle.

He then allegedly drove to a gas station, where he exited the vehicle and stabbed Laura Yitzhak.

Following that stabbing, he drove to a nearby shopping center, exited the car, and stabbed Yehezkel and Yahbas. A bus driver then shot and killed al-Kian.

The four Israelis killed were buried on Wednesday, following Jewish tradition to bury the body soon after death.

They were identified as Doris Yahbas, 49, Laura Yitzhak, 43, Menach Yehezkel Menuchin, 67, and Moshe Kravitsky, 50.

Just days before this attack, Journalist Israel Harel wrote a piece in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz praising the Israeli government’s decision to further displace the Bedouin population in the Negev.

Harel wrote, “In the first stage, 20,000 apartments will be built, as well as an industrial zone for advanced technology. In addition to finding a solution to the dire housing shortage among the ultra-Orthodox community, the city, in the specific site on which it will be constructed, will assist, in this initiative’s secondary objective, to halt, even if only in part, the process through which the Negev is being taken over by the Bedouin community, a process which in recent years has taken on alarming proportions.”

The Israeli Hadash party condemned the attack and said, “the way of violence is not the way of the Arab public in general and the Negev in particular and is not part of the just struggle of the Negev Arabs against the dispossession and oppression,” the Jerusalem Post said.

“We already hear the instigators intend to use the tragedy to ignite a racist fire and lead to violence against Arab citizens. They must not be allowed to exploit the murder of innocent people to lead to more violence,” added the party.

It is worth mentioning that Abu al-Kiyan, a Bedouin man from Hura town, was previously imprisoned by Israel, and a security source told Haaretz the assailant was a known ISIS supporter.

Several Palestinian Authority officials denounced the attack in letters to Israeli counterparts.

The Israeli police and Internal Security arrested two members of Mohammad’s family under the suspicion that they “knew about the attack, but failed to stop it, however, the allegations could not be substantiated.

According to the Negev News Arab website, the Abu al-Kian family strongly denounce the attack and said Mohammad does not represent the family and its beliefs and sent its condolences to the victims and their families.

The Arabs48 news website has reported that “The High Arab Steering Committee in the Negev” also denounced the attack and said it does not represent the Arab residents of the Negev.

It added that the attack also tries to paint the Arabs in the Negev as guilty and racist, and said: “Despite the long history of racism, discrimination and incitement against us, and despite what we have recently been facing, including attacks by Israeli militias targeting our very own existence, we continue to believe in the civil struggle within the law until achieving out full and equal rights for everybody in the Negev.”

The Committee expressed its condolences to the families, wished a full recovery to the wounded, and warned of the increasing incitement by Israeli fanatics against the Bedouins in the Negev.

“We all need to act responsibly, and we warn that incitement is just going to bring more suffering against the Arabs in general, and the Bedouins in particular,” the Committee said, “There are some in Israel, especially the extreme right wing, who are using this tragedy for political gains and are inciting against us and our existence.”

Mohammad was from the Negev, in southern Israel. Source: IMEMC