Arab Israeli student shot dead by police after arrest in Jerusalem
Israeli police deploy near Jerusalem's Old City, after shooting a young Arab Israeli who allegedly attacked police officers, April 1, 2023. © AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS
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2 min
In the midst of Ramadan, Israeli police shot dead an Israeli Arab medical student outside the mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City. Burr or attempted attack? An investigation has been opened by the police of the police.
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The incident took place around midnight (21:26 GMT Friday) near the Chain Gate, one of the entrances to the Esplanade of the Mosques, in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian sector of the Holy City, annexed by Israel. For the Israeli police, there is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism. After being arrested, Mohammed al-Assibi, a <>-year-old medical student from the Bedouin community of Hura in the southern Negev desert, allegedly grabbed a policeman's weapon and fired two shots, without hitting anyone, before being shot himself.
The problem is that according to the Israeli authorities, there is no video recording of the scene in an area that is nevertheless covered with surveillance cameras, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Michel Paul. Police still claim that the young man had been radicalized recently.
A contradicted version
Mohammed al-Assibi's angry family rejects the theory of the attack and claims that he was killed while praying in the Al Aqsa mosque. The Arab Israeli party Ra'am (moderate Islamist), represented in parliament, also rejected the police's version, noting on Facebook posts by "witnesses" saying that the incident took place while Assibi was helping a woman arguing with the police. The Supreme Committee of Israeli Arabs demands the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry under the direction of a judge. It also calls for demonstrations on the Esplanade of Mosques and a general strike in all Arab localities in Israel this Sunday.
The incident came after huge crowds of Palestinian worshippers gathered Friday at the Esplanade of Mosques for the big midday prayer on the second Friday of Ramadan. Israeli police, which guard the entrances to the plaza, said more than 100,000 worshippers had gathered there and more than 2,000 police officers had been mobilized across the city.
► Read also: Report - Ramadan begins under high tension in Huwara, Palestinian locality at the heart of violence
(
And with AFP)
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