{"id":588809,"date":"2026-08-18T21:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/588809\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T21:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:40:13","slug":"human-rights-group-demands-probe-of-police-raid-at-umm-el-fahm-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/588809\/","title":{"rendered":"Human rights group demands probe of police raid at Umm el-Fahm wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mossawa Center for Arab Citizens in Israel demanded on Tuesday that an immediate investigation be opened into police conduct during a Saturday night raid on a private wedding at the home of the Mustafa al-Afan family in Umm al-Fahm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The organization appealed to Police Commissioner Danny Levy and the Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID). The letter was also sent to Coastal District commander Deputy Commissioner Yehiel Bohadana, Menashe subdistrict commander Assistant Commissioner Roni Fares, and Umm al-Fahm<\/a> station commander Chief Superintendent Yossi Ben-David.<\/p>\n

The Mossawa Center said footage and testimony from the incident raised suspicions that police exceeded their authority, used disproportionate force, and violated the fundamental rights of the wedding guests.<\/p>\n

Attorney Kamal Khoury of the Mossawa Center described in the letter the trauma suffered by the family and guests. He said large numbers of police entered the private wedding compound, threw stun grenades, ordered participants to lie on the ground, and searched them. The center further alleged that chairs were broken during the operation and that the stage and cameras were damaged, while officers addressed those present \u201cin an offensive and humiliating manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mossawa Center said footage from the incident appeared to show a police officer allegedly using a taser against a young man who was already being held by officers.<\/p>\n

\"IsraelIsrael police conducting an operation, July 13, 2026. (credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)<\/p>\n

According to the center, the use of the device, together with stun grenades being thrown in the presence of children, women, and elderly people, requires a separate and thorough investigation.<\/p>\n

Israel Police raid wedding due to suspicions of weapons<\/p>\n

Police<\/a> said the raid was conducted due to suspicions that weapons were being used during the wedding. However, the searches ended without any weapons being found; no weapons or other arms were seized, and no one present was arrested.<\/p>\n

The center argued that the existence of a \u201csuspicion,\u201d without further details, did not answer questions about the legality of entering the compound or using force against all those present.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no dispute over the police\u2019s duty and authority to act against gunfire and the illegal use of weapons during weddings,\u201d the appeal stated. \u201cHowever, Arab society is the main victim of the phenomenon of weapons and crime, and expects the police to act effectively and in a targeted manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center claimed that the police operation in Umm el-Fahm bore the characteristics of a \u201chumiliating collective search and indiscriminate use of force.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mossawa Center demanded that all evidence from the incident be preserved immediately, including body-camera footage from police officers and other personnel, recordings of calls to the police emergency hotline, intelligence reports, operational and station logs, the operational order, a list of the forces and units that took part, action reports, and authorizations for the use of stun grenades and the Taser.<\/p>\n

The center also demanded answers as to who ordered the raid, what factual and legal basis supported it, whether a search warrant had been issued, how many people were detained or questioned, and why the guests were ordered to lie on the ground.<\/p>\n

Human rights groups call for a professional team collecting testimonies<\/p>\n

At the same time, the center called on the Umm al-Fahm Municipality to establish a legal and professional team to collect testimony from those affected and accompany the family in its dealings with the police and PIID.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe demand that the Police<\/a> Internal Investigations Department immediately begin investigating the conduct of the officers and take the necessary steps against every officer and commander who committed offenses and abused their authority,\u201d the appeal stated.<\/p>\n

The center demanded a detailed response within seven days and warned that, in the absence of a satisfactory answer, it would consider turning to the courts in an effort to compel PIID to open an investigation.<\/p>\n

Israel Police did not express regret or apologize for the incident and stood by its position. In response to criticism after video from the incident circulated on social media, police said the activity shown in the footage was carried out following suspicions that weapons had been used during a wedding. Police officers and other personnel therefore responded to the scene to investigate the suspicions and locate weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael Police will continue to act resolutely and uncompromisingly against the phenomenon of gunfire at weddings,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n

Police had not yet responded to the Mossawa Center\u2019s demand for an investigation.<\/p>\n

A similar incident occurred over the previous weekend, when a bride and groom from southern Israel, on their way to their wedding, were detained for questioning after police alleged their wedding convoy had disrupted traffic.<\/p>\n

The couple said the delay caused them to arrive late to their wedding and that some guests had already left by the time they arrived. The groom and his father blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, claiming that he had \u201cmade a show at their expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are putting an end to the wild wedding convoys in the Negev and the shooting at weddings that endangers human life. They will keep babbling, and I will keep working,” Ben-Gvir said.<\/p>\n

The groom\u2019s father contested the matter in comments to Walla.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they delayed traffic, then why not give them a ticket and release them? Minister Ben-Gvir wanted to show that he is in control, so why at my son\u2019s expense? Why did they have to film the bride?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mossawa Center for Arab Citizens in Israel demanded on Tuesday that an immediate investigation be opened into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[66633,85,46,1158,25914,43,2200,102,84431],"class_list":["post-588809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-arab-israeli","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-police","tag-israeli-arabs","tag-news","tag-palestinians","tag-police","tag-umm-al-fahm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}