Cop accused of killing unarmed Bedouin man

A police officer admitted overnight Wednesday that he was involved in the deadly shooting of a Bedouin man in an incident for which police had previously denied responsibility.

The Israel Police internal affairs unit said in a statement that the suspected cop had at first repeatedly denied involvement in the shooting of Rahat resident Sami al-Jaar, 20, who was killed during a drug bust on January 14. However, after an investigation into the matter, the suspected policeman finally owned up to his part in what is suspected to have been an illegal shooting.

During Jaar’s funeral, mourners clashed with police and a man died, apparently from a heart attack brought on by teargas inhalation. Another man sustained a serious bullet wound, sparking even more outrage among the local community.

Following Jaar’s death, officials insisted he was not killed by deliberate police fire. According to a police account of the event, policemen shot in the air after they were attacked with stones as they entered Rahat, a Bedouin city in southern Israel, to arrest several people for drug-related crimes. Jaar, who was standing nearby, was hit inadvertently, police had said.

The account met with widespread skepticism in the city, and Jaar’s family said he was not involved in the arrests. The victim’s father, Khaled al-Jaar, himself a former cop, said that when the police came he went outside with his son to see where the noise was coming from.

Across the street, he saw police beating several youths, he said. The elder Jaar approached the police and told them they shouldn’t be beating them. He then fought with a policeman, he said, who pushed him to the ground, aimed his gun at him and warned him to leave. Khaled al-Jaar returned to stand near his house shortly after, he said.

According to his account, the police sprayed tear gas at his son, and then “there was massive gunfire” and his son was fatally hit.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.