Killing of Eritrean migrant mistaken for attacker condemned by Netanyahu
An Eritrean migrant shot by an Israeli security guard and then attacked by bystanders who mistook him for an assailant in a fatal bus station attack has died.
The mistaken shooting of the migrant, identified as Mulu Habtom Zerhom, reflects the nervousness among Israelis after months of seemingly random lone-wolf attacks by Palestinians.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said: “It’s terrible. It shows you what a terrible situation we are in.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the beating, telling members of his Likud Party that Israel is a “law abiding country”.
“No one should take the law into their own hands,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu offered condolences to the man’s family.
The daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot included the headline “Just because of his skin colour”.
Dr Nitza Neuman-Heiman, deputy general director of Soroka Medical Centre, told Army Radio that Zerhom arrived at the hospital in “very serious condition” and died late on Sunday from both gunshot wounds and the injuries sustained during attacks by bystanders. The hospital said he suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
The attack, at the central bus station in the southern city of Beersheba, was among the bloodiest in a month-long wave of violence. A 19-year-old Israeli soldier was killed and nine people were wounded when an Arab assailant armed with a gun and knife opened fire.
Israeli news websites posted security camera footage that shows Zerhom, crawling on the floor and a security guard shooting him. Footage also showed a mob of shouting Israelis crowded around the man. The man was attacked as an Israeli officer and some bystanders tried to protect him.
Police are seeking to arrest those Israeli civilians who “aggressively beat” and kicked the Eritrean man “while he lay on the floor and posed no threat,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
During a month of violence, nine Israelis and the Eritrean have been killed in a wave of shootings and stabbings by Palestinian assailants. Forty-one Arabs – including 20 identified by Israel as attackers – have been killed, with the rest dying in clashes with Israeli troops.
The attacks, carried out seemingly randomly by attackers with no known membership to organised militant groups, have unnerved Israel.
Zerhom was in Beersheba to renew his Israeli visa, his employer at a plant nursery, Sagi Malachi, told Army Radio.
About 34,000 Eritrean migrants are in Israel. They say they are fleeing persecution and conflict and seek refugee status. Israel does not grant them refugee status, but does not deport them to Eritrea in line with international law so as not to endanger their lives. Migrants must renew Israeli visas every month or two, according to migrant activists.
“The death of an asylum seeker at the hands of security guards and an angry mob is a tragic but foreseeable outgrowth of a climate in which some Israeli politicians encourage citizens to take the law into their own hands,” said Sari Bashi of Human Rights Watch
Israeli police identified the assailant as 21 year-old Mohannad al-Okbi, an Arab citizen ofIsrael, from the Bedouin town of Hura in southern Israel. He was shot and killed in the attack. Security officers arrested one of al-Okbi’s relatives on suspicion that he assisted the attacker, according to police.
The Israeli security agency Shin Bet said the attacker had no past record of involvement in militant activity.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
