Strike called after Palestinian shot dead in Negev

Strike called after Palestinian shot dead in Negev
Anger boils in the Negev after unarmed man killed in protests in Rahat, with Arab Knesset member blaming Israeli police for his death.
2 min read
15 January, 2015
There are 45 unrecognised villages in the Negev (Getty)

Palestinian workers in a town in the Negev have called a three-day general strike after Israeli police were accused of shooting dead an unarmed Palestinian man.

The general strike was called in Rahat on Thursday after the death of Sami Khaled al-Sajaar, 22, late on Wednesday. He had earlier been shot in the stomach during clashes in neighbourhood 26.

A National demonstration is also set to take place on Sunday after Dajaar's funeral, and Negev officials have asked for a Israel-wide strike by Palestinians on the same day.

     This is not the first incident in which the trigger-happy Israeli police shoot an Arab citizen...
- Talab Abu Arar, Knesset member.


An Israeli police spokesperson said the force was "investigating the source of the shooting".



However Talab Abu Arar, an Arab Knesset member, held police responsible for the shooting: "The police shot a man who did not pose any danger to them," he said.

"This is not the first incident in which the trigger-happy Israeli police shoot an Arab citizen, they are then exonerated by an internal police investigation."

In November, 2014, Israeli police were filmed on CTTV shooting Kheir Hamdan, 22, from Kufr Kana, a town in Galilee.

Hamdan's killing sparked a wave of clashes between citizens and Israeli police. No one has yet been held accountable for Hamdan's recorded murder.

The strike in Rahat does not include schools and health institutions. Officials however said they had dedicated the first two hours of schools to discussing police violence and in particular the murder of Dajaar.

The Negev area has experienced high tensions in the past year as the Israeli state accelerates its strategy of Judaising the Negev and relocating about 40,000 Palestinians who live on their historic land in villages unrecognised by the Israeli state.

The Araqeieb village was demolished for the 80th time on Wednesday.