UMM AL-HEIRAN, Israel -- Demolitions in an Israeli Arab village activists say has been targeted by racist policies sparked violence on Wednesday, with a policeman killed and the man accused of attacking him shot dead. A prominent Israeli Arab lawmaker was also wounded in the confrontation in Umm al-Heiran in southern Israel, where activists have long sought to draw attention to what they call the unjust practice of demolishing Arab homes. Police said the man killed, a local resident, was active in the Israeli Islamic Movement and may have been influenced by the Islamic State organization — a claim residents strongly denied, calling him a respected teacher. "He has no relations with the Islamic Movement. Injured lawmaker Ayman Odeh heads the Joint List, a coalition of mainly Arab parties and the third-largest bloc in parliament.

Source: The China Post January 18, 2017 16:05 UTC