Arab-Israelis Strike To Protest Village Demolition

Arab-Israelis in northern Israel declared a general strike on Thursday to protest yesterday's demolition of several homes in a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert.



The strike -- along with three days of mourning -- was called for by the Arab High Follow-Up Committee (which represents Palestinian citizens of Israel) after a local man was killed in a Wednesday police raid on the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran.



Taking up the call to strike, businesses in northern Israel -- where there is a large Arab-Israeli presence -- have remained closed since early Thursday morning.



A large demonstration is expected on Saturday to protest the Jewish state's longstanding practice of demolishing Arab homes.



Israeli authorities have issued demolition orders against the entire village of Umm al-Hiran -- claiming homes therein had been built without permits -- to make way for Jewish-only housing projects.



In 1952, and again in 1956, Umm al-Hiran residents were forcibly relocated by the nascent Israeli state. In the years since, many village residents have refused an offer to be relocated to the nearby town of Hura.



On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's home-demolition policy would continue apace.



He also reiterated earlier threats to demolish more Arab homes after Israel's High Court upheld an earlier court order for the evacuation of Amona, an illegal Israeli settler outpost in the occupied West Bank.



Last week, following the demolition of several homes in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Qalansawe, local residents had staged a similar general strike.



Yaqoub Abu al-Qiyan, an Umm al-Hiran resident, was killed early Wednesday in a police raid on the village, while an Israeli police officer was allegedly killed in a vehicular attack carried out by a local Palestinian.



Israeli radio reported Thursday that Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan had claimed to have proof of the alleged vehicular attack.



It was not clear from video footage released earlier by police whether the car had accelerated until after it had been fired on.



Suggestions by police that al-Qiyan, a 47-year-old teacher, had links to the Daesh terrorist group have been disputed by village residents. -