MKs Abas Zkoor and Talab el-Sana, both of Ra’am Ta’al, have accused police of causing an Israeli Arab man’s death in a police chase last Thursday.  The man, 29-year-old Suleiman al-Atagiya, died while fleeing from police on a motorcycle following a theft. 

Zkoor and el-Sana claimed that al-Atagiya was unconnected to the robbery, and said that he only fled police because he did not have driver’s insurance.  “When it comes to Israeli Arabs, the finger is easy on the trigger,” Zkoor wrote in a letter to Public Security Minister Avi Dichter.  “If it continues like this,” he warned, “it will lead to worse riots than those of October 2000.”  Zkoor told Israeli papers that police had deliberately run al-Atagiya over several time “to ensure that he was dead.”

Police rejected the claims, saying the police had followed procedures, and were not responsible for al-Atagiya’s death.  Al-Atagiya was driving wildly and ran into a police vehicle, they said.  Police said they would consider filing a complaint against Zkoor and el-Sana for libel.