Shooting Of Israeli Arab Sparks Rioting in Northern Israel; Arabs Call General Strike For Sunday

Arab leaders called a 24-hour general strike in Israel in response to the shooting of a 22-year-old man in the Arab town of Kafr Kanna near Haifa. The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel called the strike for Sunday as protests raged Saturday in the wake of the shooting, Reuters reported.

Rioting was reported in northern Israel and Jerusalem Saturday, Ynetnews and the Associated Press reported. Rocks were thrown at a bus along a route that connects Hadera to Galilee, injuring two passengers. A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized with a head wound, injured by rocks thrown by Palestinians along a highway in southern Israel.

Some 200 protesters demonstrated in Haifa against the shooting and the conflict surrounding the al-Aqsa mosque.

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino raised the security level to Level 3 out of 4, saying he expects further disruptions.

The unrest erupted following the shooting death of Khair Hamdan who is seen in a video attempting to break the windows of a police van. The footage shows officers getting out of the van and at least one officer shooting Hamdan.

Police said the shooting was under investigation. "The deceased attempted to stab police officers during the arrest of one of the residents. As a result, they shot him. We are continuing to investigate the incident," police said in a statement.