July 29, 2017: Mahdi Jamal al-Saadi, 22, was shot and killed by Israeli police near the Jaffa port. Another young man was moderately wounded by police gunfire as well.
The Israeli police claimed that the two tried to shoot at police from a motorcycle, but their families denied those claims. No police were injured.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Mahdi was shot six times in the upper body and neck. His neighbor Avi Ohaion, told the Post, “They didn’t have to kill him. He [Saadi] came to my clothing store just two days before the shooting. I knew him and his father. They are good people.”
The police also removed surveillance footage from businesses near where the shooting occurred.
Following the killing, the Israeli police held the body of al-Saadi in custody, preventing the family from holding the funeral (Islamic custom requires a funeral to be held as quickly as possible after a death).
Hundreds of people gathered at the family home of al-Saadi, then marched to the Abu Kabir Detention Facility, where his body was held for a number of hours, until successful negotiations between the family of al-Saadi and Israeli authorities.
At the same time, dozens of heavily-armored Israeli police lined up outside the detention facility where the protesters were gathered. Clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters, in which the Israeli police fired tear gas and concussion grenades at the crowd.
Four were arrested during the protest, including a leader with the Islamic Organization in Jaffa, Abdel-Qader Abu Shehada, and took them to the police station ‘Yftah’ in the city, where Abu Shehada was arrested from the center of ‘Yvit’, following the clashes that erupted between Police and youths angry at Saadi’s death.
Al-Saadi was the third Palestinian to be killed by Israeli forces in 24 hours. On Friday, a 24 year old man was killed at a military base south of Bethlehem, and a 16-year old boy was killed at a protest in Gaza. Source: IMEMC