The Mossawa Center denounces continued police violence against the Ethiopian community

The Mossawa center expresses solidarity with the Ethiopian community of Israel following another unlawful death at the hands of Israeli police forces.

Protests erupted on Monday night in Kiryat Haim outside of Haifa following the shooting of 19 year-old Solomon Tekah in a local park on Sunday night. Shot by an off-duty police officer, Tekah succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The police alleged that Tekah had been involved in a fight and had thrown stones at the officer. Eyewitnesses, however, have dismissed claims that the officer's life was threatened. Protesters gathered outside Haifa police station on Monday night, with similar demonstrations being held across the country.

Undue force and violence has characterized the behaviour of the Israeli police force against the state’s minority groups for decades. Tekah’s murder, the second police killing to take place against Israelis of Ethiopian descent in six months, has thrown light on the second-class status of communities of color in Israel.

Over forty Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel have been murdered by Israeli police officers since 2000. The ‘restraint and responsibility’ called for by the police chief in light of Tekah’s death clearly does not apply to Israel’s marginalized groups, who remain the victims of state violence. While the officer who shot Tekah dead on Monday remains under police protection, such protection is not afforded to minority groups they are bound to protect.

The Mossawa Center denounces the continuance of police violence and calls for an end to the discrimination and violence faced by marginalized groups in Israel.

The following is a list of Arab civilians deaths resulting from police brutality and hate crimes. For more information, please contact [email protected].

	Name	Place of Residence	Date	Responsible Party
1	Eyad Lawabneh	Nazareth	2 October 2000	Police
2	Mohammed Jabareen	Umm al-Fahm	1 October 2000	Police
3	Ahmad Jabareen	Mu’awiya	2 October 2000	Police
4	Rami Ghara	Jatt	2 October 2000	Police
5	A’laa Nassar	Arrabeh	2 October 2000	Police
6	Asel Asleh	Arrabeh	2 October 2000	Police
7	Emad Ghanayem	Sakhnin	2 October 2000	Police
8	Waleed Abu Saleh	Sakhnin	2 October 2000	Police
9	Mosleh Abu Jarad	Umm al-Fahm	1 October 2000	Police
10	Ramez Bushnaq	Kufr Manda	3 October 2000	Police
11	Muhammed Khamayse	Kufr Kanna	3 October 2000	Police
12	Omar Akawe	Nazareth	8 October 2000	Police
13	Wisam Yazbek	Nazareth	8 October 2000	Police
14	Ahmed Tarabeen (21)	Segev Shalom	19 October 2000	Police
15	Mahmod Ahmed Tarabeen (20)	Tarabeen Al-Sanei	15 February 2001	Security Personnel
16	Haitham Abu Samadaneh	Tarabeen Al-Sanei	26 October 2001	IDF
17	Manahal Yousef Daraghmeh	Baqa Al-Gharbiyeh	21 February 2002	IDF
18	Bilal Subhi Badran	Umm al-Fahm	19 March 2002	IDF
19	Sumaiya Mahmoud Zidan	Yamma	17 May 2002	IDF
20	Mahmoud Zahayka	Jerusalem	18 May 2002	IDF
21	Bassem Abu Sbeit	Hura	23 May 2002	Police
22	Imad Hamdoun	Haifa	15 August 2002	Civilian
23	Sabri Hamdan Amara	Kufr Kanna (killed in Beit Rimon)	4 December 2002	Police
24	Sudki Idris	Taibeh	25 December 2002	Police
25	Basem Elsamodi	Umm al-Fahm	6 February 2003	IDF
26	Mursi Jabali (25)	Taibeh	22 July 2003	Police
27	Nasser Abu El Geaan	Kufur Atir	24 July 2003	Police
28	Mahmoud Al Sadi	Lod	8 December 2003	Police
30	Tamer Sarsor	Kufr Qasim	15 November 2004
29	Hazar Turki	Shefaraam	4 August 2005	Civilian
31	Dina Turki	Shefaraam	4 August 2005	Civilian
32	Mishil Bahoth	Shefaraam	4 August 2005	Civilian
33	Nader Haik	Shefaraam	4 August 2005	Civilian
34	Samir Dari	Esaweye, East Jerusalem	9 November 2005	Police
35	Nadim Milhem	Ara’ara	19 January 2006	Police
36	Mahmoud Ghanaim	Baqa Al-Gharbiyeh	4 July 2006	Police
37	Iyad Abu Reia	Yaffa	4 October 2006	Police
38	Khaled Abu Trash	Negev (killed in Mazraa)	13 January 2007	Civilian
39	Taiseer Karakra (35)	Ramat Gan	14 May 2007	Civilian
40	Imad Khori	Haifa	5 November 2007	Civilian
41	Salman Ataika	Wadi Naam	21 February 2008	Police
42	Sabri Jirjawi	Ashkelon	3 July 2008	Police
43	Sameh Karawani	Mghar (killed in Nazareth Illit)	18 June 2009	Civilian
44	Hussein Atrash	Negev (killed in Kufr Ben Non)	1 September 2009	Police
45	Hazem Abu Dabaat	Jerusalem (killed in Tel Aviv)	14 September 2010	Police
46	Mahmoud Ahmad Ebeid	Tuba Zangaria (killed in Majd al-Krum)	1 November 2011	Police
47	Ramy Fachory	Nazareth	11 June 2014	Police
48	Khir Hamdan	Kufr Kanna	8 September 2014	Police
49	Sami El-Ja’ar	Rahat	14 January 2015	Police
50	Sami El-Zyadneh	Rahat	18 January 2015	Police
51	Sanad Haj Yehia	Taibeh	27 February 2016	Police
52	Jebril Jeroshi	Ramle	27 July 2016	Police
53	Yaqoub Abu Al-Qiyan	Umm al-Hiran	21 January 2017	Police
54	Mohamad Taha	Kufr Qasim	6 June 2017	Police
55	Mahdi Saadi	Yaffa	27 July 2017	Police