Making a first statement since a mob attacked an Eritrean immigrant mistakenly identified as a terrorist in Beersheba Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “nobody can take the law into his hands.”
“We are in a continuing struggle. It’s clear that we will win, but this thing sometimes causes friction,” he says according to Ynet. “Civilians who are attacked act resourcefully, but the people caught in this incident needed to turn to the security forces.”
Police said earlier they would probe the incident after 29-year-old Eritrean national Haftom Zarhum died in the hospital after he was shot by police who thought he was a terrorist, and then beaten by a crowd.
Security camera footage showing an Eritrean man being shot in the Beersheba central bus station on October 18, 2015, after he was thought to be a terrorist. (screen capture: Channel 2)
The shooting and beating were both caught on video, in which Zarhum can be seen to be unarmed. Police said he was likely shot in confusion during the attack because of the color of his skin.
Amnesty International has also put out a statement calling for those seen kicking Zarhum and throwing chairs and benches at him as he lay bleeding on the floor be immediately arrested and prosecuted.
There have been a number of mob attacks against terrorists after they have been shot or otherwise subdued, though officials have stayed silent on the issue until now.
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