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Security forces at the Be'er Sheva Central Bus Station after a shooting attack, October 18, 2015. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz, published by Haaretz
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A suspected Palestinian was shot dead in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba after he allegedly opened fire in the city's central bus station, killing one soldier and injuring at least nine other Israelis, Israeli police said.

Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an that nine Israelis had been hospitalized following the attack.

He said the attacker was shot dead, although he was unable to confirm that he was Palestinian.

He initially said that there had been two attackers, one of whom was apprehended.

Although it remained unclear who the second individual was, Israeli media suggested the second man may have been an Eritrean asylum seeker.

Israeli news site Haaretz reported that the asylum seeker was shot by Israeli police after they "misidentified him as a terrorist."

Haaretz quoted the southern district chief of police, Deputy Commissioner Yoram Levi, as saying that after killing the Israeli soldier, the attacker "took the soldier's gun and continued shooting in the central bus station."

"Forces in the area responded quickly, he managed to escape the central bus station but ran into forces, was shot and killed. In his belongings we found a knife and a pistol with ammunition."
Rosenfeld said that the area around the central bus station was closed off.

The attack follows a series of stabbing attacks that have left seven Israelis dead since the beginning of the month.

Some 42 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the same period -- some after carrying out the alleged attacks, but others at demonstrations.

There have been clashes across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

They were prompted by Israeli army and settler reprisals after four Israelis were killed in two separate attacks at the beginning of October, although tensions had been mounting for weeks.

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by Almog Ben Zikri for Haaretz, Oct 19, 1 am

Two Dead, 11 Wounded in Shooting Attack in Southern Israel


Gunman kills soldier in shooting spree in Be'er Sheva; security guard shoots and kills asylum seeker after misidentifying him as an assailant.

An Israeli soldier was killed and 11 others were wounded in a shooting at the Central Bus Station in the Southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva on Sunday evening. An Eritrean asylum seeker was shot and killed during the incident after a security guard after he misidentified him as a terrorist. The terrorist was also shot and killed. 

Among the wounded, two are in serious condition, with another said to be critical. The others sustained light to moderate wounds. According to the police, the identity of the terrorist is currently being ascertained. The soldier has been named as 19-year-old Sgt. Omri Levy from Sdei Hemed.

Following the initial gunfire, a security guard fired toward an asylum seeker, evidently thinking he is linked to the gunman. The asylum seeker, identified as Haftom Zarhum, 29, of Eritrea, traveled to Be'er Sheva to obtain a visa and was on his way home when he was shot. In videos captured at the scene, the asylum seeker is seen attacked by the people around him, including a soldier, after being shot. The people are seen kicking him, throwing a bench at him and pinning him to the ground with a chair. Some of the witnesses made efforts to stop the attackers. 

The bus station is a closed compound with security guards posted at the entrances. It is unclear how the gunmen managed to get past the guards.

The southern district chief of police, Deputy Commissioner Yoram Levi, said: "One armed terrorist entered the central bus station and shot at a soldier and killed him. He continued his shooting spree, took the soldier's gun and continued shooting in the central bus station. Forces in the area responded quickly, he managed to escape the central bus station but ran into forces, was shot and killed. In his belongings we found a knife and a pistol with ammunition."

Over the weekend, three Israeli officers were wounded in separate terror attacks in and around Hebron. Six Palestinian assailants were shot dead during alleged knife attacks, including two in the capital.
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by YNET reporters, Oct 18, 2015, 9:50 pm
[see videos at Ynet News Source Link]

A terrorist, who shot Golani soldier Sergeant Omri Levy and snatched his M-16 rifle from him, opened fire at Be'er Sheva's central bus terminal on Sunday evening, murdering the soldier and wounding nine others, several of them members of Israel's security forces.

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Five people were seriously wounded - two of them very seriously, four others were in moderate condition and the rest in light condition. Two dozen others were suffering from shock. All wounded were taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.

The terrorist, identified by Palestinian media as Asam al-Araj from Shuafat, arrived at the bus terminal armed with a knife, a gun and ammunition, and started attacking passersby. He tried to stab a woman, who hit him with pepper spray, and then shot a soldier and snatched his M-16 rifle, shooting in all directions.

Security forces who were already at the station on their way home or to their bases opened fire at the terrorist, who escaped out of the bus terminal, where he was shot down and killed after a gun fight with security forces who arrived at the scene.

At first, it was believed there were two attackers, but it later transpired that the second man who was gunned down was an Eritrean man. He was shot in his lower extremities by the bus terminal's head of security, who thought him to be a terrorist, as the Eritrean was fleeing the ensuring gun fight.

While lying wounded on the floor, passersby who also thought him to be a terrorist beat him up - throwing benches and chairs at him, kicking him, spitting on him and cursing at him. Police officers on the scene, as well as some civilians, were trying to keep the attacking passersby at bay.

Paramedics trying to evacuate the Eritrean, who was critically wounded, to the hospital ran into objection from the crowds at the scene, who blocked their way and called out "Death to Arabs," "Arabs out!" and "Am Israel Hai" ("The people of Israel still live").

The Eritrean's friends, who were with him at the time of the attack, were being questioned by security forces.

The bus terminal's head of security recounted the incident: "I was at the dock, heard bursts of gunfire. I ran there, and there was a guy on the floor. I was on my way with my weapon drawn, because there was shooting inside the station. There was a stabbed soldier next to the attacker (who later turned out to be the Eritrean man - ed.). I just shot one bullet and he was neutralized ... First of all I made sure that the man who was on the floor, the attacker, won't move."

Before snatching the M-16 rifle, the terrorist tried to stab an Israeli woman at the station.

"I was at the central bus terminal before everything started. I saw the terrorist, he tried to stab me with a knife to the stomach. I kneed him and then hit him with pepper spray," said Sima Kozoshvili.

"He chased me, and a Border Policeman came and tried to help me and I passed out and his my head. I saved my own life - without the pepper spray, I would've died on the spot," she added.

Questions arose about the ease with which the terrorist was able to enter the central bus terminal armed, despite security posted at entrances.

"We're currently looking into the issue of security at the central bus station. Since the wave of attacks began, we've increased security," Be'er Sheva mayor Ruvik Danilovich told Ynet, clarifying it was impossible to "hermetically seal any place."

"This was a very serious attack that could've ended far worse if it hadn't been for the resourcefulness of security forces who neutralized the terrorist," Danilovich said.

He called on Be'er Sheva residents "not to take law into their own hands and let security forces do their job," and urged them "to remain vigilant."

"We're in a campaign that seeks to hit us where it hurts, have civilians walking around frightened. I understand the heightened emotions, but we have to be restrained, and we will win. Don't panic," he added.

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad welcomed the attack, saying it was a "natural response to the cold-blooded executions of Palestinians by the IDF and the settlers."

Both groups issued statements saying the intifada would continue and escalate until reaching the goals of "deterring the occupier and getting rid of it for good."

The attack was one of the most serious incidents amid near-daily bouts of violence that has hit Israel and the Palestinian territories over the past month.

The unrest erupted in Jerusalem a month ago over tensions surrounding the Temple Mount, a Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. It soon spread to Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and then to the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.

Israel has struggled to contain near-daily attacks by Palestinian assailants. Authorities have blocked roads and placed checkpoints at the entrances of Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Other security measures include ID checks and requiring some Palestinian residents to lift their shirts and roll up pant legs as they exit their neighborhoods to prove they are not carrying knives. Soldiers have been deployed in Jerusalem and cities across Israel.

The daily attacks have caused a sense of panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of heavy violence.

The outbreak was fueled by rumors that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine and a key national symbol for the Palestinians.

Israel has adamantly denied the allegations, saying it has no plans to change the status quo at the site, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray. It accuses the Palestinians of inciting to violence through the false claims.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his government would start going after the finances of the Islamic Movement in Israel, a group he accuses of being the chief inciter of the recent violence.

"Israel is not the problem at the Temple Mount, Israel is the solution," he told his Cabinet. "We will protect the status quo, we are the only ones who are doing this and we will continue to do it responsibly and seriously."