Two killings by Israeli forces bring very different responses from police and public

Protests followed the killings of an Ethiopian Israeli and a Palestinian ... but only one provoked outrage among the wider public

Protesters scuffle with police during a protest for the death of 18-year old Solomon Tekah of Ethiopian descent, after he was shot by police, in Tel Aviv, Israel July 3, 2019. Reuters

Two very different responses to police killings in the past week have laid bare racial tensions dividing Palestinians and Israelis, and among Israelis themselves.

Israelis demonstrated for the third day this week over the killing on Sunday of Ethiopian Israeli Soloman Tekah, 19, by an off-duty police officer.

The officer, now under house arrest, said his life was in danger when he shot Tekah but a witness disputed his account.

Ethiopian Israelis erupted with anger to what they say is their treatment as second-class Jewish citizens because of their race.

After Takeh’s funeral on Tuesday, some protesters blocked roads, set cars on fire and clashed with police.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan condemned the violence on Saturday, saying that he acknowledged “the great sorrow and suffering that tens of thousands of people have suffered, but the police must gradually act".

Protests continued on Wednesday, with marchers chanting, “If he were white, he would be alive today.”

Another police killing occurred a few days earlier but with a crucial difference: the shot man was Palestinian and living in occupied East Jerusalem.

Police responded far more harshly to the demonstrations that ensued, while media avoided reporting the wider context and suggested the incident was justified.

Israeli police claimed they shot dead Mohammed Obeid, 20, after he shot fireworks at troops entering his neighbourhood of Issawiya.

Obeid’s killing and funeral sparked days of protests, clashes, and arrests. Israeli authorities held on to his body at first to try to prevent more protests after his funeral.

Issawiya is a tough neighbourhood, and clashes between police and Palestinian residents are common, often involving tear gas, live ammunition, raids and arrests.

Palestinians have long claimed occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, while Israel, with the backing of the US, wants the whole city.

Within Israeli society there are also deep divides between Eastern European, or Ashkenazi, Jews who founded the state, and Middle Eastern, or Mizrachi, Jews who immigrated in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as newcomers such as Russian and Ethiopian Jews.

Mizrachim, along with groups including the Russians and Ethiopians, have long claimed that state institutions and Ashkenazi elite have discriminated against them.

A key base of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's are Mizrachi voters who say he and the Likud party are the main ones supporting their interests.

But Mohammed Abu Hummus, a longtime Issawiya activist who was injured during protests, said it was hard to compare between happened to him with the action he saw against Ethiopian Israelis on TV.

The police "didn't treat us like they treat them", Mr Abu Hummus said of the police's quick response to the slightest movement of people on the streets.

"It's clear there's a racist treatment  because of the occupation. Their reaction is very hard."

The Israeli public felt, at least for a day, the impact of Tekah's death, especially those caught in hours of traffic jams on Tuesday.

By Wednesday evening, the protests had started to settle.

But Obeid's death and the unrest barely resonated.

That, Mr Abu Hummus said, should be a problem for everyone.

"If it's Arab or Jewish or Muslim or Christian, when the police kill someone in cold blood, it impacts the whole world," he said.