Tel Aviv - An Eritrean national died of his wounds in a southern Israeli hospital early on Monday, a day after he was shot and beaten to death by furious Israeli bystanders who believed he was an assailant in a shooting.
Israeli media described the incident as a “lynching.”
Police said they would track down and arrest the Israeli citizens who kicked, beat and threw chairs on the Eritrean, who was already injured after having been shot by a security guard.
The beating happened in the Central Bus Station of the southern Israeli city of Beersheba late on Sunday, shortly after a Bedouin from the southern Negev desert opened fire in the terminal, killing a soldier and injuring a dozen Israelis.
The real assailant engaged in a gunbattle with security forces and fled outside, where he was shot dead by police.
The victim was already on the floor and no longer posed any perceived danger when he was severely beaten and kicked by the furious bystanders, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
“The police view this with the utmost severity and will not allow citizens to take the law into their own hands,”she said.
“We must all act with restraint and caution and allow police to do their work,” she urged.
Palestinians have carried out some 29 knife attacks against Israelis since October 6, feeding an atmosphere of panic across the country.
DPA
Get our free IOL newsletters - subscribe here...
http://www.iol.co.za/newsletters