Fallah al-Naami, brother of Rahat resident Ahmad Said al-Naami, who was shot dead by reservist Border Police officers, told ynet he does not believe police claims that his brother fled from officers in his car and later on foot. He said the claim that his brother tried to escape simply makes no sense.
“He could barely walk and spoke slowly. Four years ago, he had a stroke,” he said.
Ahmad was shot dead before dawn Saturday during a police chase, although he was unarmed. His family says he was murdered. The officer who fired the shot is being questioned by the Police Internal Investigations Department on suspicion of unlawful shooting and has been removed from operational duty for about two weeks.
An initial internal investigation found that Border Police officers signaled al-Naami to stop, prompting a chase after his vehicle. He then fled the car and ran on foot. Border Police officers claim al-Naami attacked two fighters, one of whom fired the shot that killed him. The officer who shot him claims he did not intend to kill him, only to wound him so he could be subdued.
His brother said Ahmad suffered from a brain tumor and complications from diabetes. He served in the Bedouin reconnaissance battalion and developed PTSD after two of his friends were killed more than 20 years ago. Four years ago, he suffered a stroke that left him “barely able to walk,” his brother said. He is survived by eight children, the youngest of whom is 6.
“For several months, he was sedated. We didn’t know if he would come out of it alive,” Fallah said. “Since then, he spoke slowly and could barely walk. That was the result of the stroke. Police claim he confronted them, but there is no way to justify this. This is a man with a brain tumor. He had no weapon and no drugs. A person like that can be neutralized by other means, not by shooting. He opened the door and they immediately shot him.
“They shot him three times in the chest. He managed only a few steps before he fell. What happened must be investigated. They could have shot him in the hand or leg. Take him to prison — just not to the grave. What can you feel after someone is taken from you in a second? Yesterday you had a brother, today you don’t. We don’t even have words,” he said.
Ahmad’s niece, Bader, said: “This is another case showing there is no security. This country is being run in chaos. People murder easily, and those who are supposed to deal with it are busy with other things. This is Ben-Gvir’s culture. We hope this government will be replaced, but it will take time to fix things. We are supposed to believe in the body that is meant to give us security, but here the killer is the police.”
“What sense of security can we have?” she added. “They didn’t take just one person, they took an entire family. He was the backbone of the home. How can anyone trust them after something like this? Police will look for excuses. I don’t expect an indictment against the officer because Ahmad was Arab. The police are racist. There will be no justice.”
His wife, Ibtisam, also blamed police. “Ahmad was a wonderful person, but this is what Ben-Gvir wants. This is him. We only want the person who killed him to be punished, to go to prison,” she said.