Senior cop slams vigilantism following beatings of attackers

Police had a more difficult time stopping Jewish Israelis from beating a Palestinian terrorist Monday than stopping the stabbing itself, a senior Israel Police officer said Tuesday.

Major General Motti Cohen, commander of Central District, said officers had to physically stop an Israeli mob from beating the assailant after an knife attack in Rishon Lezion. One member of the crowd who went at the stabber with a metal pole was arrested.

“Dozens of people tried to take the law into their own hands and to injure the perpetrator,” he said. “Officers tried to deal with the situation by distancing the mob. It was harder and even more complicated that stopping the initial [stabbing] attack.”

The beating took place after a 19-year-old Palestinian from Hebron stabbed and wounded two civilians — one of them an 80-year-old woman — before running into a store, where he stabbed another man.

A similar scene unfolded in Netanya hours later Monday, where a mob attempted to beat a stabber after an attack, and police arrested one member of that mob — who was then nearly beaten by the mob who mistook him for the Palestinian assailant.

Cohen said Monday that police will not tolerate vigilante justice.

“I want to be very clear, taking the law into your own hands is a criminal act, he said.

In Rishon Lezion, angry bystanders converged on the store and cornered the terrorist just as police on motorcycles arrived.

Cellphone video footage shows police officers holding back dozens of people attempting to reach the the attacker as officers handcuffed and arrested him. A handful of people can be heard shouting: “Why is he still alive?” and “Death to the Arabs.”

Cohen said one police officer was injured when a man tried to attack the terrorist with a metal pole. He was apprehended by officers on the scene and taken into police custody.

On Tuesday the Petah Tikva District Court extended his detention, according to a local news site.

Later Monday, police police prevented two other beating attempts following a separate stabbing attack in Netanya that left a 71-year-old Israeli man seriously wounded.

A 23-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Tulkarem stabbed and seriously wounded the elderly man early Monday evening, then fled the scene.

Police who were nearby rushed to the scene and began to pursue the attacker. The Palestinian turned to face the cops, knife drawn, when one officer shot him four times in the legs. He was seriously wounded, according to police.

According to reports from the scene, a local shopkeeper saw the wounded terrorist and attempted to rush the officers and stab him. Police stopped the attacker and arrested him for attempted assault.

In the meantime, a crowd gathered around the scene. Some in the crowd concluded that the detained man was the terrorist and attempted to attack him. Police forces rushing to the scene held off the mob.

Monday’s attacks left 6 people injured in total.

Eighty-year-old Rachel Eisenkott, who was stabbed in the Rishon Lezion attack was taken to Asaf Harofeh hospital in critical condition but has since improved, with doctors upgrading her condition to moderate.

A 31-year-old man from Bnei Brak also injured in the attack remains in critical condition.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.