Odeh says footage proves police violence at Umm al-Hiran

New footage of a deadly home demolition in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran earlier in the year shows police pepper spraying Joint (Arab) List MK Ayman Odeh in the face.

Odeh tweets the footage filmed by an Al Jazeera cameraman, saying it proves police lied about using force against him and other protesters during the protests.

“Police attacked us, pepper sprayed us directly in the eyes and then fired stun grenades,” he says. “Unfortunately, the rubber-tipped bullet that struck and injured me was not recorded.”

דוברות המשטרה ניסתה להכחיש שהותקפתי על ידי השוטרים באותו לילה נורא באום אל חיראן, הסרטון הזה מוכיח את תחילת העדות שלי – שוטרים תקפו אותנו, ריססו גז פלפל ישירות לעיניים וירו רימוני הלם, לצערי ירי כדורי הספוג ממנו נפצעתי לא מתועד. pic.twitter.com/5c0YPDZ4b8

— איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh (@AyOdeh) November 22, 2017

Home demolitions at the unauthorized Bedouin village in the Negev were disrupted in January when a car, driven by local schoolteacher Yaqoub Mousa Abu Al-Qia’an, slammed into the police line, killing one officer, 34-year-old Erez Levi, and moderately wounding another.

Police opened fire and killed Abu Al-Qia’an as the protest around them devolved into a violent riot.