Palestinians go on strike over murder of Hamdan

Ramallah: Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset have officially accused Israeli Police of deliberately assassinating Khair Al Din Hamdan of Kafr Kana in the 1948 areas.

They have urged the Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to launch a thorough investigation into the killing, arguing that Palestinians in the 1948 areas do not trust the Internal Affairs section of the Israeli Police.

“When a Jewish man shot and killed former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, police arrested him, but did not shoot and kill him,” said Ahmad Al Tibi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset in a statement.

He urged the Israeli Attorney General to intervene in the case.

Palestinian members of the Knesset have also lodged an official request to the Interior Committee to convene with immediate effect to discuss the killing of Hamdan.

General strike

In protest against the killing of Hamdan, Palestinians in the 1948 areas went on general strike on Sunday.

The strike covered all the councils, municipalities, schools and all other public and private institutions. Major processions were expected to be organized all over the 1948 areas.

Hamdan was murdered by Israeli police after he expressed anger following the arrest of his brother. He was reportedly shot in the back.

His funeral was attended by thousands of angry Palestinians from the 1948 areas. In response, Israeli military forces raised their emergency status to C degree deploying more than 12,000 policemen at the entrances of the Palestinian towns and villages of the 1948 areas.

The Higher Follow-Up Committee in the 1948 areas said that it was necessary to send Israel a message that the life of the Palestinian is not cheap and that the failure to pursue the killers provides them with immunity and legitimacy and legalizes crimes.

The Israeli daily the Haaretz reported on Sunday that Israeli security officials have been holding marathon meetings over concerns that spreading violence in occupied East Jerusalem will spread to the West Bank and the 1948 areas. The key fear behind the violence is that Israel wants to change the status quo of Al Haram Al Sharif.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke against the Sunday demonstrations during the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, maintaining “We will not tolerate disturbances and will act firmly against those who throw stones or firebombs, any blocking of traffic arteries, and demonstrations calling for our destruction.”

“We will not tolerate demonstrations in the heart of our cities, where there are calls for the redemption of Palestine with blood and fire, basically calling for the destruction of Israel,” Haaaretz quoted Netanyahu as saying. “The time has come to operate against these movements that want to destroy us.”

According to Haaretz, before the meeting Finance Minister Yair Lapid urged calm responses. “Members of the cabinet and members of the Knesset must focus on lowering the flames, not intensifying [them],” Lapid said. “We must live here together. The fact that this situation is being used for political gain is completely unacceptable and irresponsible.”