Thousands Attend al-Qi'an's Funeral

Jerusalem, 24 January, 2017 (TPS) -- Thousands of people attended the funeral Tuesday of Ya’akub Musa Abu al-Qi’an, the Bedouin man who was killed during a clash with police at the unrecognized village Umm al-Hiran last week, but leaders of Israel’s Arab community criticized the Israel police for setting up roadblocks in and around the Negev region to prevent people from attending.

Earlier in the day, police spokespeople said they were committed to carrying out the High Court of Justice ruling yesterday and ensuring al-Qi’an’s funeral went off with a maximum of public safety, but on the way to the procession Arab MKs and other community leaders said they were stopped at random checkpoints.

MK Ayman Odeh (Joint List) called on police to comply with the High Court’s decision and allow the funeral to proceed as planned.

“I call on the police to show responsibility and to remember that we are citizens of the country and that as such we, at least officially, are supposed to enjoy all our rights. Let the funeral go as planned and stop this abuse of the family,” Odeh said.

Muhammad Barakeh, head of the Monitoring Committee of the Israeli Arab Leadership (and Former Hadash faction head) also criticized police for what he called an “ongoing brutality and antagonism.”

“We will get to this funeral, even if we have to walk there,” Barakeh said.

Hundreds of police officers have been dispatched in the area of Shoket Junction in order to ensure public safety at the funeral, which is due to begin at 12:30, and Bedouin leaders say they have deployed hundreds of community leaders to ensure that the procession is peaceful. The police argued that contrary to the aforementioned reports, they are permitting entry where the roadblocks are established to all incoming people who wish to attend the funeral.

Police said they will be guided only by the principles of ensuring the High Court of Justice ruling is carried out while also guaranteeing public safety.