Attack On Israeli Bus Station Leaves One Dead, At Least Ten Wounded
An armed man attacked people at a bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba Sunday, the Associated Press reports.
Wielding a knife and a gun, the assailant killed an Israeli soldier and wounded at least 10 others; Reuters reports that 11 were injured in the attack. The attacker, who is believed to be Palestinian, was shot and killed by police.
Authorities also fired on another man, an Eritrean migrant living in Israel, believing him to be the shooter. Video footage taken during the attack shows bystanders kicking and spitting on the Eritrean national after he was shot, according to BBC News. The Jerusalem Post says that the man is alive but in “serious condition.”
The attack is the latest in a recent surge of violence perpetrated by Palestinian assailants. Nine Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the past month, the AP reports, and 41 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire in that same timeframe. Twenty of those 41 Palestinians killed were labeled “attackers” by the government.
The Israeli government has responded to the past month’s violence by deploying troops in cities nationwide and erecting concrete barriers that separate adjacent Arab and Jewish neighborhoods.
“Decisions such as the ones adopted by the Israeli Cabinet pour gasoline on the fire,” Palestinian official Saeb Erekat told the AP last week. “Israel is an occupier in Jerusalem. It should end its occupation. This is the key to peace and stability.”
