Israeli police are hunting members of a group of Israelis who killed an Eritrean migrant after they thought that he was involved in an attack at a bus station.
Haftom Zarhum, was shot repeatedly by a security guard then kicked and spat at by a mob after going to the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to pick up his renewed work visa. He was walking past the central bus station with a group of friends when an Israeli Bedouin armed with a gun and knife attacked a bus, killing an Israeli soldier and injuring 10 others.
In the panic surrounding the attack, Zarhum was identified as a suspected accomplice, apparently based on his looks.
In events that some Israeli media called a lynching, Zarhum was shot and wounded before being shot several more times by a security guard at the bus station as he crawled along the floor. Still alive, he was then surrounded by people who cursed and spat at him, kicked him in the head and tried to hit him with a chair.
As paramedics tried to rescue him, the crowd chanted “Death to Arabsâ€, “Arabs out!†and “Am Israel Hai†(“The people of Israel still liveâ€) and tried to stop them.
In Beersheba on Monday, Zarhum’s Eritrean friends and co-workers were gathered on a bench not far from the bus station, including Amani Tewelde who was with him when he was killed.
-We were just waiting at the bus station, said Tewelde to several media present.
-The bus was late and then someone started shooting. ‘Mila’ went one way and I went to the other side. They shot him twice. Then I saw them kicking him. Someone found his visa and was holding it shouting he’s Eritrean, he’s not a terrorist, but no one could hear him.
