Thousands protest in Arab cities after student killed in shootout

Thousands of Arab Israelis are protesting in Tamra, Umm al-Fahm and Nazareth over a fatal shootout between cops and criminals on Monday night.

Two men in their 20s were killed in a shootout between police and underworld criminals in the Arab city of Tamra in northern Israel — one of them a suspect and one an innocent bystander — sparking outrage, protests, and an investigation.

The incident began when police forces identified three criminals who were suspected of firing gunshots toward a house. Cops opened fire toward them, with police saying the suspects responded with gunfire from M-16 rifles.

One of the suspects was hit and killed by officers in the ensuing shootout, another was wounded and the third escaped, police said in a statement.

But the bullets also hit and killed 22-year-old Ahmed Hijazi, a nursing student who came out of his house due to the noise, the reports said.

Demonstrators block roads in northern Israel over the student’s death.

אלפים בהפגנות בטמרה ובנצרת בעקבות מותו של אחמד חג'אזי בחילופי אש עם שוטרים הלילה בעיר@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/mBHkFIMAub

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 2, 2021