Israeli police detained five Palestinian citizens of Israel overnight Sunday in the town of Jaffa, which has been the scene of protests over the weekend against police brutality and racial profiling.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Al-Samri said in a statement on Monday that five residents of Jaffa, including three minors, were detained after setting fire to garbage containers during the night.
Hundreds of mourners participated in a funeral on Saturday night in Jaffa for 22-year-old Mahdi al-Saadi, who was shot dead by police early Saturday morning.
The family of a Palestinian citizen of Israel killed by Israeli police in Jaffa are demanding justice. https://t.co/PLB5SwvHvv pic.twitter.com/o3uu5OhqCh
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) July 31, 2017
Locals argued that al-Saadi posed no threat to Israeli police when he was fatally shot and that he could have been detained without using lethal force.
The incident sparked major street protests in Jaffa against police brutality and racial profiling Saturday afternoon, triggering clashes with Israeli police amid an atmosphere of tension and outrage.
Israeli forces have long come under heavy criticism for what rights groups have referred to as “extrajudicial executions” and excessive use of force against Palestinians who did not pose an immediate threat or who could have been disarmed through non-lethal means.
While fatal shootings by Israeli forces of Palestinians are more common in the occupied Palestinian territory, Palestinian citizens of Israel say they routinely face discriminatory treatment at the hands of police forces amounting to racial profiling.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
