Israeli authorities begin demolishing the Bedouin village of Umm el-Hiran in preparation for its replacement with a Jewish town, following violence which left a Bedouin man and an Israeli police officer dead, and a Palestinian MK wounded.
Photos by Keren Manor and Faiz Abu Rmeleh
Umm el-Hiran before and after Israeli bulldozers carried out demolitions, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Hundreds of Israeli police officers arrived in Umm el-Hiran at around 5.30am, running towards the mosque where residents and activists had gathered, ahead of planned demolitions in the unrecognized village. Shortly after a few rounds of live fire were heard, followed by a burst of shots and shouts that people had been killed. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Police began violently dispersing those present, using shock grenades, pepper spray and sponge-tipped bullets. Among those injured by the latter was Joint List head Ayman Odeh, who was allegedly struck in the head and back. Police assert that Odeh was struck with a stone thrown by protesters, but eyewitnesses dispute this claim. Umm el-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
After dispersing everyone from the center of Umm el-Hiran, Israeli police fanned out throughout the village to prevent people from coming and going, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Rabbi Arik Ascherman holds up a photo of a 100-year-old resident of Umm el-Hiran whose home was slated for demolition, as bulldozers enter the village behind him, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Bulldozers demolishing homes, Umm el-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Seven tractors worked in tandem to demolish homes, animal sheds and other farm structures in Umm el-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
Women weep outside the demolished home of Yaqub Musa Abu al-Qian, who was shot dead by police. The Israeli authorities claim that Qian deliberately ran over a police officer with his car, killing him, while eyewitnesses say that police opened fire on the car before it sped up — a version that appears to be supported by police aerial footage of the incident. Umm el-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills)
The ruins of a demolished building in Umm el-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills)
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