Mossawa Center's director Jafar Farah
Police still unclear on how protester's leg broke during Haifa protest
48 hours removed from demonstration in solidarity with Gazans, police still probing circumstances leading to director of Israeli-Arab nonprofit's leg being broken after he was taken into custody; all arrests carried out in accordance with law, protocol, police insist, but say Police Investigations Unit inquiry still ongoing; 200 people decry Gaza situation in another protest Sunday.
Two competing protests were held in Haifa Sunday evening—one in solidarity with the people of Gaza, demanding the release the 19 people still detained after a similar protest
in the northern city Friday—and one calling for "continued coexistence."
Among those still in custody is Jafar Farah, the director of the nonprofit Mossawa Center—which promotes equality for Arab citizens in Israel—whose leg was broken during Friday's rally after he was handcuffed by police officers under circumstances that have yet to be ascertained.
Friday's protest in Haifa (צלם: עודד גלעד)
The Police Investigations Unit said it will hold an inquiry into allegations of police brutality during the Haifa protest.
Mossawa Center's director Jafar Farah's leg was broken under murky circumstances, with police probing allegations of excessive force
Some 200 people participated in the solidarity protest, congregating in front of the city's magistrates' court and waving Palestinian flags. Serious police forces were on the scene.
A second protest was held in the city's German Colony, decrying "rioters who harmed the city's coexistence." A counter-protest was held a short distance away by activists from left-wing parties and groups, with police acting as barrier between the factions.
Protester waving sign saying, 'In Gaza you murdered protesters, in Haifa you break bones' (Photo: Zohar Shachar)
Forty-eight hours removed from the demonstration, which ended with the arrest of 21 people, and police are claiming they have still not been able to discover how Farah's leg was broken.
Footage of Farah before being led away by officers showed him standing on his own two feet, but he later arrived injured to a local hospital while in police custody.
The spokesmanship unit for the Coast District Police said in response that the arrests were "required to restore public order and prevent a danger to the public. All of the arrests conformed to laws and procedures."
"Despite the attempt to foment hearsay and to impugn the conduct of the policemen on the scene, the findings of the inquiry thus far show no irregularities surrounding the injury of one of the detainees," the statement continued.
The protest in Haifa Friday (Photo: Police spokesmanship)
"Unfortunately, certain entities have chosen to make cynical use of the media to disseminate libel—some of which is contradictory—surrounding police's actions. We expect all involved to conduct themselves with responsibility, to await the conclusion of the professional probe and to avoid misleading statements solely intended to incite and agitate," the police's appeal concluded.
Activists participating in Friday's protest claimed Farah's leg was broken during a confrontation with policemen surrounding their treatment of his son, 18 year old Bissan, who was also arrested on the scene.
"The squad car his son was in was involved in a car accident but he was taken into custody and was denied access to medical treatment under the claim that he was fine," one activist alleged.
(Photo: Police spokesmanship)
"Later his father arrived at the station and saw policemen beating his handcuffed son. He tried defending him, and the cops beat him as well and broke his leg," the activist maintained.
Joint List Chairman MK Ayman Odeh confronted policemen himself Saturday when he was denied entry to the Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa, where he desired to meet Farah, who is hospitalized there.
MK Odeh confronting policeman
He was shown swearing at one of the officers present and calling him a "zero," prompting the officer to lodge a complaint against the lawmaker for insulting a public servant.
Head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, former MK Mohammad Barakeh, said that police's attitude "will not deter us. We will continue our just struggle. It is the right of all people to speak their mind."
Odeh's party member MK Yousef Jabareen added that he contacted the European Union's Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret to ask him to "intercede in light of the excessive violence of police against protesters, the government's policy in Gaza and the transfer of the American Embassy (to Jerusalem)."
Joint List MK Jabareen said he contacted EU Ambassador Giaufret to intervene in the matter (Photo: Knesset spokesmanship)
Simultaneous with protests against the police and decrying the situation in Gaza, a protest held Sunday evening will champion "continued coexistence in Haifa."
Its organizers claim that protesters—most of whom are not even residents of the city—have been trying to dismantle coexistence in Haifa over the past few days. Organizers therefore hope moderate Arab residents will show up as well to voice their support of the cause.
