Police to make more arrests over brutal attack on Eritrean man

4 already charged over assault on Haftom Zarhum, who died after being shot by guard then beaten by mob who mistook him for a terrorist

Israel Police are planning further arrests in the brutal beating of an Eritrean man who was mistaken by Israeli security forces for a terrorist during an attack on October 18 at the Beersheba bus station.

Haftom Zarhum, aged 29, died in the hospital after he was shot by a security guard who thought he had just taken part in a terror attack that left an Israeli soldier dead and another 11 people wounded. While writhing on the floor, he was repeatedly beaten by an enraged mob.

According to the Hebrew-language Walla website, those summoned for questioning include two IDF soldiers and an Israeli civilian who are shown on security camera footage beating Zarhum as he lay on the ground. The military police are involved in the investigation into the beating.

Four suspects in the attack, including two members of the Israel Prison Service, were arrested by police Wednesday for aggravated assault. The four were released on bail Thursday and have been banned from making contact with one another.

Pathologists determined the cause of his death was internal bleeding from a gunshot wound, not the repeated blows to the head he subsequently suffered.

The head of the Israel Prison Service condemned the alleged actions of its employees, saying that “violence contradicts the values of the organization.”

A graphic video posted on the Channel 10 website showed the severity of the attack on Zarhum, with a number of people — including the two soldiers — repeatedly kicking him in the head as a bus driver tries to protect him.

Some 2,000 people attended a memorial event for Zarhum in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.