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Arab lawmaker interferes with arrest, any other citizen ‘would have been handcuffed’ for that

‘Any other citizen, if he had not been a Knesset member, would have been arrested this afternoon and handcuffed for questioning after doing what MK Tibi did,” a police source said.

By World Israel News Staff

During a police operation Thursday in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem, a young man, suspected of violating public order and vandalizing an Israeli flag, was detained for questioning, Hebrew-language channel N12 reported.

“This afternoon, the police detained a young man after a suspicion arose that he had thrown a suspicious object out of his hands,” Israel Police stated, adding that the incident is being investigated.

However, Arab Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi arrived at the scene and interfered with the procedure, thus providing the suspect with an opportunity to flee, the report said.

As a lawmaker, Tibi enjoys parliamentary immunity.

A police source told the N12  that “ any abuse of immunity by elected officials is taken seriously” and that “interfering with a police officer in the performance of his duties, thwarting a detention or arrest, is a serious act that must not be tolerated.”

‘Any other citizen, if he had not been a Knesset member, would have been arrested this afternoon and handcuffed for questioning after doing what MK Tibi did,” the source said.

The police were struggling to maintain order in eastern Jerusalem Wednesday, where there have been riots, stone-throwing and other forms of violence against officers.

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The Joint List said in a statement that “the presence of police officers near the church was a provocative presence. They tried to beat young people and make false arrests of young people in the church while mourning,” referring to the shooting death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday.

The Palestinians immediately blamed the IDF for the shooting in Jenin, although there is reason to suspect that it was a Palestinian, rather than an IDF soldier, who fired the shot. The Palestinian Authority is refusing to cooperate in an investigation with the Israelis.