The Israel Police has begun prosecuting civilians who beat an Eritrean national to death after mistaking him for the terrorist in Sunday’s shooting attack, Acting Police Chief Commander Benzi Sau stated Tuesday morning.
“Since yesterday we have been engaged in collecting evidence,” he stated to Walla! News, noting that police are already gathering witness testimonies.
Sau said that, in his eyes, these civilians crossed a red line.
“Where we see citizens taking the law into their own hands, we’ll put them on trial,” he warned. “It is clear that there are natural reactions [to a terror attack – ed.], but there also are clear rules and we should draw the line – we do not allow mistreatment of detainees and minorities.”
“The rules of engagement have not changed.”
He added that the attack and its accompanying events could have resulted in a greater disaster. Nonetheless, reports of friendly fire upping the casualty count are being investigated.
“This event is very complex and very difficult, […] and enclosed a large area,” he noted. “From conversations with police officers who witnessed the shooting, they thought that the source of the gunfire was from a different direction. There was panic and confusion.”
“Among other things, we are looking into the possibility that the injured were hurt by gunfire of soldiers and police.”
Two people were killed in the attack and nine others wounded – several seriously – when 21 year-old Israeli Arab Muhaned Al-Okabi shot a soldier, grabbed his automatic weapon and opened fire on a group of police standing in the station. He was later shot dead by security forces.
Those killed in the attack included IDF soldier Omri Levy, whom Al-Okabi shot, and Eritrean national Haftom Zarhum – who was shot and beaten to death after the crowd mistook him for a second terrorist.
Zarhum’s death has caused an uproar from within the government and security sectors, as several top-ranking officials warned the Israeli public not to let hysteria over the wave of terror cloud judgement.
Earlier Tuesday, Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan echoed comments similar to Sau’s, instructing bystanders only to neutralize terrorists – but not to go too far.
“We do not want to see civilians who beat a man bloody, whether he is a terrorist or not. I condemn it and hope the police will complete their investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“It must be clear to everyone that we do not judge – if we were able to neutralize the terrorist, and he is no longer a danger, we certainly should not continue to hurt him until he’s in serious condition,” Erdan stressed.
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