Hundreds of demonstrators, mostly from the Arab-Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj, protested Thursday, January 1, over the killing last week of 22-year-old Ayoub al-Toukhi by an armed civilian in a vehicle with a soldier, near the Egyptian border. The protesters blocked the Bir ‘Asluj intersection in the Negev, hold posters displaying the faces of six men from the town who have been killed over the past four years in extrajudicial killings.
Protesters blocking the Bir ‘Asluj intersection in the Negev with posters displaying the faces of six men from the Arab-Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj who have been killed in recent years in extrajudicial killings, January 1, 2026 (Photo: Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages in Negev)
Al-Toukhi’s suspected killer was released Sunday to house arrest with restrictions by a judge in the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court. He reportedly works in a defense company that deals in drones and had been accompanying soldiers during a drill at the border last week. That night, as he was driving back from the exercise in his jeep, accompanied by a soldier, the pair encountered al-Toukhi and his cousin, Muhammad, driving north on Route 211.
They slowed down next to the car, which is when al-Toukhi began driving off-road. According to Muhammad, who recounted the incident to Haaretz, his cousin’s driver’s license had expired, and he was afraid of getting in trouble for traffic violations. The pair did not realize they were being ordered to stop, as the vehicle from which shots were fired was a civilian vehicle and its occupants were dressed in civilian clothing.
Despite initial reports that the cousins had been involved in arms trafficking, Muhammad was released without a court hearing because no evidence was found linking him to the purported offense, Haaretz reports. Lawyers for Muhammad told the newspaper that he denies any involvement in smuggling.
Speaking at the protest, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif says that the cousins posed no danger to anyone and “are not suspected of anything. The shooting was carried out without cause by a racist” and called on the police to investigate the incident and bring the shooter to justice.
