Police Ask for Five-day Extension of Detention for Israeli Arabs Protesting Against Gaza Shootings

Police Ask for Five-day Extension of Detention for Israeli Arabs Protesting Against Gaza Shootings
Jafar Farah is among the 19 detained; relatives say he was beaten by police after his arrest. Hundreds of left-wing, dozens of right-wing supporters attend Haifa demonstrations following earlier confrontations in recent days
Jack Khoury and Noa Shpigel
The police announced on Sunday night that they were seeking a five-day extension of the detention of 19 demonstrators who were arrested on Friday. The demonstrators took part in a protest against Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. One of the 19 is Jafar Farah, the head of the Mossawa Center, whose relatives say a policeman beat him after he was arrested, breaking his knee.
The police reported on Sunday that a preliminary investigation did not find any link between Farah’s arrest and his injury. “The arrests are necessary in order to restore public order and to prevent any harm to public safety” said the police announcement.
“The arrests were made lawfully and followed customary procedures. Despite attempts to spread rumors and cast aspersions on the actions of policemen at the scene the investigation so far has shown that there was nothing extraordinary linking the injury of one of the demonstrators to his arrest.” The police’s internal investigation unit will look into the incident.
In the meantime, 300 people attended a left-wing demonstration on Sunday night in the German Colony neighborhood in Haifa. They were protesting the killing of demonstrators in the Gaza Strip and the arrest of the demonstrators on Friday. Among the demonstrators were the chairman of the Joint List MK Ayman Odeh and MK Aida Touma-Suleiman. At the same time, a few dozen people demonstrated at another rally under the banner “returning Haifa to Israel.”
At the left-wing demonstration participants carried placards saying “We oppose the occupation,” “Jews and Arabs together,” “You won’t silence Haifa” and “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.” They shouted: “blood-soaked regime, stop killing children,” “Fascism won’t be tolerated” and “Gaza, don’t despair, we’ll stop the occupation.” The right-wing demonstrators flew the Israeli flag, sang Hatikva and shouted “The people of Israel live” and “Our Father lives.”
Jack Khoury
Haaretz Correspondent