Police forces raided the village of Deir al-Asad near Karmiel in the Galilee region, on Saturday night, following Saturday confrontations during which police officers were attacked and two police vehicles were set on fire in the village. The police arrived following reports of a shooting during a wedding.
Large police forces entered the village accompanied by a helicopter from the air on the night between Saturday and Sunday to make further arrests following the Saturday events. Eleven suspects were arrested in connection with the assault on police officers, and more arrests are expected in the coming hours.
Clashes broke out on Saturday between police and residents; the 43-year-old uncle of the groom was shot by police officers and was evacuated from the scene in critical condition. A 26-year-old policeman was in fair condition with a head injury after he had been hit by a stone thrown from a rooftop. Both were transferred to Nahariya Hospital for medical treatment.
According to local witnesses, the critically wounded man tried to keep away young people who came to confront the police. There were several additional injuries in the clashes, including some serious ones.
Several vehicles were set on fire, including two police vehicles. Weapons and police equipment were stolen from the vehicles before they were set on fire, but local villagers intervened, calmed the rioters, and talked them into returning the weapons and the equipment.
Village residents rescued three policewomen who sought shelter from the rioters and hid them in their home.
Amar Assadi, a video journalist who regularly posts his reports on Telegram, said he met the “terrified” policewomen when they were hiding in the house of the villager who had been shot by the police. According to Asadi: “When I arrived there was a serious mess. In my estimate, there were eight policemen at the scene, including four Border Guard officers. The policewomen hid in a nearby house. They were very frightened. I went into the house, took them to my car, and drove them to where the police were.”
“In my opinion, the police officer on the spot made an error in judgment,” said Asadi. “The event was not supposed to end that way.”
Police said the clashes broke out between the villagers and police officers after the latter had arrived following complaints about shootings in the air in the village during a wedding. According to the locals’ version, the wedding guests denied the police claim that there was a shooting and a confrontation developed during which the police pulled out weapons and started firing.
Dr. Tamer Naama from the Hian Emergency Medical Services in Kafr Yasif told Channel 12 News: “We treated five wounded and evacuated one of them who suffered a chest injury. We evacuated the wounded man in a critical condition while he was anesthetized and resuscitated.” According to testimonies from the locals, the man was injured by the police fire.
Minister of Internal Security Omer Bar-Lev (Labor) ordered an investigation into the recent events in Deir al-Asad.
