| Beersheva bus station shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli-Palestinian conflict | |
 | |
  The attack site | |
| Native name | הפיגוע בתחנה המרכזית של באר שבע (2015) |
| Location | Beersheva, Israel |
| Coordinates | 31°14′33″N 34°47′48″E / 31.24250°N 34.79667°E |
| Date | 18 October 2015 |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Pistol, IMI Galil |
| Deaths | 3 (soldier, the perpetrator, civilian mistaken for second gunman) |
| Injured | 11 |
| Perpetrator | Muhand al-Okabi |
On 18 October 2015, a gunman shot and killed 19-year-old Israeli soldier Omri Levy in a bus station in Beersheba. After killing the soldier, he took his automatic rifle and fired into a crowd. When more security officers appeared, the gunman fled, but was killed by security personnel.
A 29-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker, Haftom Zarhum was mistaken for a second attacker. He was shot eight times by police and was kicked and beaten by four Israelis as he lay wounded, while bystanders shouted profanities at him.[1][2] Graphic footage of the lynching was filmed by a bystander and spread on social media.[3]
At least eleven people, including Zarhum, who died of his wounds a few hours later, and four police officers, were hospitalized. The gunman was the first Israeli Bedouin to be involved in an attack against Israelis.[4]
In response to the lynching, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that citizens should not take the law into their own hands.[5]
- ^ Ofir, Jonathan (21 July 2020). "Revenge against Palestinians is understandable, Israeli judge says in acquitting two security officers who attacked innocent man". Mondoweiss.
- ^ Wootliff, Raoul (21 March 2018). "Man gets community service over lynching of migrant mistaken for terrorist". Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Israel mob lynches Eritrean after bus station attack".
- ^ "Bedouin Israeli indicted for aiding Kiryat Gat terrorist". The Times of Israel. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ Dyke, Joe (19 October 2015). "Netanyahu warns against vigilantism after Eritrean killed". Yahoo! News. AFP. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.