Thousands of Ethiopians in Israel took to the street in violent protests around the country, following the killing of an unarmed Ethiopian man on Sunday night.
Solomon Taka, 18, is the Ethiopian Israeli youth who was shot and killed by police on Sunday night. The policeman who fired at him was dressed in plainclothes. The fatal shooting occurred in the Kiryat Chaim neighborhood of Haifa.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed authorities would swiftly investigate the incident, hours after the police officer was detained over the killing and then released to house arrest.
The Israel Police officer who shot Tekah was arrested on suspicion of murder, the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department said earlier Monday. The Haifa Magistrate’s Court later released the officer to house arrest.
According to police, the policeman who fired the fatal shots was first attacked by Taka, who threw stones at him and the policeman felt that his life was in danger. The Justice Ministry Police Investigations Unit (PIU) has launched a probe into the shooting.
The policeman was discharged from Carmel Hospital in the city during the night and immediately reported to investigators from the PIU who are handling the probe into the fatal shooting. He told investigators the shooting was an act of self-defense. He was arraigned on Tuesday morning before the Haifa Magistrate’s Court. Protests expressing outrage over the shooting took place outside the police station and the courthouse.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan expressed shock over the shooting. He explained that in an event in which a person is killed by a policeman is a most serious one that demands an urgent investigation to ensure that all necessary steps were taken and that all necessary lessons be learned from the incident.
Erdan also called on the Justice Ministry and the PIU to conduct the probe in an expeditious manner.
According to the police, youths quarreled and the policeman, who was dressed in civilian clothes, tried to separate them. The father of one of those involved claimed that there was no confrontation.
Police report, “In the evening, the police received a report of an unfortunate incident in Kiryat Chaim in which a young man was killed by gunfire. Police officers arrived at the scene and in an initial examination of the circumstances of the incident revealed that a policeman who was not on duty and was with his wife and three small children in a nearby playground noticed a fight in the street between several youths and tried to separate the sides”.
Police add, “At some point, after identifying himself as a policeman, the youths began throwing rocks at him. The youth who was injured by gunfire was rushed to the trauma unit of Rambam Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The policeman was injured in his upper body and transported to a hospital”.
Advanced EMT Gal Stavsky explained when he arrived at the scene, he saw a person lying in the middle of the road and he was in cardiac arrest. He began CPR and efforts were made to stop the bleeding. He was transported by paramedics to the hospital as CPR and advanced resuscitation were ongoing.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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18 Responses
WELCOME TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
that is a sad comment coming from an angry person
Actually, really not.
I live here in the holy land of Eretz Yisroel and love it. I’m referring to the crazy zionist authority and equally crazy police department
Why do we always have to imitate the US? Watching too much American TV? Israeli police being trained by the same people who are training US police to shoot to kill? Or did the officer learn while on duty in the shtachim that someone throwing rocks should be shot?
And this was one Jew killing another, not a terrorist or nationalistic incident.
And guess what – the officer will get off without punishment, or even retraining. And Israel will again be seen in the eyes of the world as barbarians.
Why is it that all the negative comments start when the Chareidim protest?
Israel is a jewish state but that does not give the right for any officer to treat non jews in such a way. Ethiopians contribute greatly to the country in general and many of them even converted ti judaism out of love for hashem and his people.
What right do they have to block streets????
Do you have any idea how many people they are messing up??
And if an ambulance needs to get through he would be blocked!!! People can die.
Just a bunch of wild people with nothing else to do with their lives.
Why don’t they get jobs so they won’t be available to protest???
Maybe if they would learn to respect the police this wouldn’t have happened!
What a massive חילול ה’
Where is the beating and arresting of people?
I guess they know not to take that route with the Ethiopians.
OY VEY! They blocked traffic.
Why were none of these protesters manhandled and arrested. Can you guess the answer. Ok Ill give you 3 tries.
This incident deserves to be thoroughly investigated. Throwing stones is an act of deadly force. Israeli officers, whether military or police should be allowed to assess their danger and use lethal force if necessary. It is the appropriate response to the Palestinian stone throwers, and might have been appropriate here. Let’s see what comes of the investigation.
It is rather straight forward: If you do not throw rocks at police, you have a decent chance of not getting shot by them.
Is that too dificult for you to understand, chazaka r?
@RRR
Why the violence and hate?
How many people are mistakenly shot around the world?
It will be looked into.
How did your comment about entering Israel get there?
This is the most beautiful and holy country.
Lucky are the fortunate who dwell there!
FORSIGHT i guess you did not read my second post
THE STATE OF ISRAEL to me, is more if an idea since I call this country Eretz Yisroel
Police brutality is never acceptable regardless of race or religion, rich or poor. A State employee eating donuts doesn’t give a coward bully the right to hurt or kill others.
deport them
Why do you call the Ethiopian “unarmed”? He threw rocks at the police and initiated an attack on police. Calling the Ethiopian “unarmed” is misleading. “According to police, the policeman who fired the fatal shots was first attacked by Taka, who threw stones at him and the policeman felt that his life was in danger” (quote from above article)
Change your title to “Police Shoots and Kills Violent And Dangerous Ethiopian”