Suspect arrested over stabbing of police officer at protest sparked by hit-and-run
Holon resident suspected of attempted murder during Tel Aviv demonstration by Ethiopian community last week against handling of collision that killed 4-year-old Rafael Adana
Police said Monday that they had arrested a man suspected of stabbing a police officer last week during a protest in Tel Aviv against law enforcement’s handling of a probe into a hit-and-run that killed a boy several months ago.
Police said the suspect was a 23-year-old resident of Holon, a suburb of Tel Aviv. He was taken for questioning on suspicion of attempted murder.
Another male suspect who lives in Holon was arrested as well, but police didn’t say what he was suspected of.
The incident occurred during a protest last Wednesday, led by members of the Ethiopian community, who accuse authorities of racism and leniency toward the driver who hit 4-year-old Rafael Adana in May.
The traffic officer was stabbed in the shoulder while on duty relatively far from the protest itself, police said. He was moderately wounded and taken to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital for medical treatment.
A photo of the officer’s injury, circulated by police last week, appeared to show a laceration in his trapezius muscle, between his lower neck and right shoulder.
The suspect fled and police employed various technological measures to locate him, police said in a statement. A “significant development” occurred in recent days, identifying the suspect, and officers on Monday tracked him down and arrested him along with the second suspect.
Tel Aviv District Commander Peretz Amar commented that “the officer’s stabbing and injuring is a very grave incident, and the arrest proves that we have an excellent police that is professional and determined.”
“Harming police officers crosses a red line, and we will act to fully bring the culprits to justice,” he added.
Last week, shortly after the stabbing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, saying, “Stabbing a police officer crosses a red line. Protests are a sacred right in a democratic country, but we will not accept… any type of violence.”
The Adana family said in a statement at the time, “We’re asking our brothers, sisters and friends to show restraint. There is great pain, but we don’t want an escalation, but solutions and justice for Rafael.”
“The last thing that we want or need is for them to portray our whole community as violent and problematic. Don’t let them take an entire community to the places that they want,” the family said.
Another three officers were injured during the Wednesday protest, police said, when some protesters threw stones and other objects at officers. At least 10 people were arrested during the protest for “throwing stones, attacking police officers, and violating public order.”
Hundreds of demonstrators, mainly from Israel’s Ethiopian community, gathered in Tel Aviv to draw attention to the death of Adana, who was hit by a car while walking with his grandfather in Netanya on Shabbat, May 6. He was critically wounded and died in a hospital several days later.
The driver, a 70-year-old woman, fled the scene, later claiming she “didn’t feel” the vehicle striking anything. She turned herself in to police several hours later and provided testimony about the car collision, Channel 12 reported. She was released to house arrest.
Since then, no charges have been filed against the driver, and Adana’s family and other activists are demanding that prosecutors take action and allow the family to view footage of the hit-and-run.
Investigators have sought to determine whether the driver veered from her lane and hit the boy while he was on the sidewalk, or whether he had strayed into the street, Channel 12 reported.
Adana was of the Ethiopian-Israeli community, as are many of the activists calling for action. The community has charged authorities with discriminatory legal treatment in the past.
In 2019, Israel’s Ethiopian community held major protests over the fatal shooting of a community member by an off-duty police officer.
In 2015, a large demonstration in support of the Ethiopian community against police brutality and racism turned violent, transforming Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square into a massive street brawl.
Community members have also accused successive governments of neglecting an Ethiopian-Israeli man, Avera Mengistu, who is being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
