Thousands of Israelis of Ethiopian origin held nationwide protests on Monday as the community fumed over the fatal shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old by an off-duty police officer the night before.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Haifa, where Solomon Tekah, 19, was shot dead on Sunday night.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that authorities would swiftly investigate Tekah's death, as the officer involved in the incident was detained and later released to house arrest.
Three policemen were wounded as demonstrators in Haifa threw stones and firecrackers, lit tires on fire, and blocked traffic into the city. Protests were held in a number of other cities, as well as outside the home of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan in Kiryat Ono.
The officer involved in the shooting of Tekah claimed that he was trying to break up a street brawl he came across while off-duty, when three youths attacked him, hurling stones at him. Eyewitness testimony, however, disputed the officer's claim that his life was in danger when he opened fire.
The incident sparked renewed accusations of police brutality and prejudice against Ethiopian Israelis.
Previous tensions between police and the Israeli Ethiopian community boiled over last January when thousands protested in Tel Aviv against police violence and brutality.
The protesters burned trash cans and threw bottles at police, after a mentally unstable young man, Yehuda Biadga, was shot to death, sparking anger and accusations of unfair police treatment.
Israel's Ethiopian community now numbers around 140,000 people, including more than 50,000 who were born in the Jewish state.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
