Bedouin illegal gunfire suspect tries to run over police during arrest

Police on Tuesday arrested a Bedouin man suspected of taking part in an apparent massive celebratory firing of M16 assault rifles on roads in Israel’s south.

The arrest came as part of a crackdown on lawlessness in the Bedouin community ordered last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after a viral video surfaced showing the shooting.

The footage showed men firing into the air from several vehicles. It was apparently filmed in the area of the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, southeast of Beersheba.

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In a statement, Israel Police said it has been continuously investing efforts in locating and arresting the suspects appearing in the video.

The man, a resident of Segev Shalom said to be in his 20s, was arrested near Ohalim Junction, near where the video was filmed.

When he noticed the officers, police said, “he began to flee while attempting to run over them. He later abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape on foot. After a pursuit he was arrested by the officers and taken for questioning in Beersheba.”

The government on Sunday gave initial approval to a law that would mandate a five-year prison sentence for illegal gunfire, prepared by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked after determining that the existing law doesn’t adequately address the current situation.

Punishments for such offenses had been lenient and enforcement was ineffective, Erdan said.

The new law extends the maximum punishment for illegal shooting that puts lives at risk to five years in jail, while the maximum penalty for shooting in non-life-threatening situations will be two years.

“This increase in punishment, alongside heightened law enforcement, is the real way to treat the ‘wild south’ phenomenon — there or anywhere else in the country,” Netanyahu told ministers at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

“I expect police to do everything to deal with the phenomenon of shootings in the Bedouin and Arab sectors,” said Erdan.

Shaked warned that Israel would “land an iron fist on criminals of every kind and everywhere. The legislation is important to return the sense of security to Israeli citizens.”

The suspect will be brought before court on Wednesday, and police said it would ask for his remand to be extended.