Top Arab lawmaker on Umm al-Hiran: The important questions haven’t been answered

Israel’s top Arab lawmaker, Joint List chair MK Ayman Odeh, slams the State Attorney’s Office for closing its probe into the police officers who shot and killed Yaqoub Abu Al-Qia’an during the demolition of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran.

“Again the [Police Internal Affairs Department] and the State Attorney’s Office abandon their pursuit of truth when the lives of Arab citizens are on the line,” he says in a statement.

“The important questions have not been answered: Why does it make sense to carry out an evacuation in pitch dark [the demolition took place in early morning hours] with loaded firearms? Why does it make sense for Yaqoub Abu Al-Qia’an to be denied medical care [shortly after the shooting]? What reason did [Police Commissioner Roni] Alsheich and [Public Security Minister Gilad] Erdan have for launching a public campaign of incitement again Al-Qia’an immediately after the incident? They’re the real culprits behind the bloodshed.”