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Israeli policeman and Bedouin killed in clashes over demolitions Israeli policeman and Bedouin killed during clashes over demolitions
(about 3 hours later)
Two people have been killed in southern Israel during a confrontation between police and Bedouin villagers over the demolition of illegally built homes.Two people have been killed in southern Israel during a confrontation between police and Bedouin villagers over the demolition of illegally built homes.
Police said an officer was killed in a car-ramming attack in Umm al-Hiran, in the Negev desert, and that the Israeli Arab driver of the car was shot dead.Police said an officer was killed in a car-ramming attack in Umm al-Hiran, in the Negev desert, and that the Israeli Arab driver of the car was shot dead.
They said the driver was active in the Israeli Islamic Movement. They alleged he was active in an Islamist group and might have been influenced by so-called Islamic State.
But locals said he was a teacher who had only wanted to talk to officials to try to stop the demolitions. But locals said he just lost control of his car after being shot by police.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says tensions are running high in the area.The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says tensions are running high in the area.
There have been many house demolitions in Umm al-Hiran as a new, mainly Jewish town is built on the site, our correspondent adds. There have been many house demolitions in Umm al-Hiran as a new, mainly Jewish town is built on the site.
The Israeli Supreme Court rejected an argument that members of a local Bedouin tribe had rights to the land. The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected an argument that members of a local Bedouin tribe have rights to the land.
The army moved them to Umm al-Hiran from their original village in the 1950s, a few years after the State of Israel was created. The army moved them to Umm al-Hiran from their original village in the 1950s, a few years after the State of Israel was created. They have now been told to move to new housing elsewhere.
They have now been told to move to new housing elsewhere. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a local man had driven at speed towards officers deployed in Umm al-Hiran during Wednesday's operation to demolish dwellings deemed to have been built without a permit on state-owned land.
"A vehicle driven by a terrorist from the Islamic Movement intended to strike a number of officers and carry out an attack," he said in a statement. "The officers responded and the terrorist was neutralised."
The Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement was outlawed in November 2015, after the Israeli government accused the Islamist group of fomenting a wave of knife, gun and vehicle-ramming attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs that has killed at least 42 people in the past 16 months.
The movement's Southern Branch, which recognises Israel's legitimacy and engages in national politics, has not been banned.
Mr Rosenfeld later said the officer who died was 34-year-old Sgt Maj Erez Levi.
The driver was meanwhile named as Yaakub Abu al-Qiyan.
Village activist Raed Abu al-Qiyan said he was a member of his Bedouin tribe and owned one of five buildings that had been scheduled for demolition.
"The Israeli narrative is a lie. He was a revered school teacher," he told AFP news agency. "He has no relations with the Islamic Movement."
"He was in his car and they shot at him from everywhere."
Human rights activist Michal Haramati, who witnessed the incident while in Umm al-Hiran to observe the demolitions, said Mr Abu al-Qiyan had not been driving towards police when he was shot.
"Suddenly the car started to go down the hill, without control, absolutely," she told Reuters news agency. "The driver was obviously dead by the time that he lost control this way. That's when he hit the cops."
The driver's brother, Ahmad Abu al-Qiyan, said he was "murdered in cold blood".
Following Wednesday's incident, there were further clashes in Umm al-Hiran in which several other police officers were wounded, Mr Rosenfeld said.
Locals accused them of using excessive force to remove protesters.
Politician Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab Joint List in the Israeli parliament, was wounded during the clashes and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to "enflame the area".
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan accused Mr Odeh of travelling to Umm al-Hiran to "incite violence" and warned there might be "criminal implications for him".