The attacker was already known to law enforcement for terrorist offenses. Three victims were stabbed, one was hit by a car. The man was stopped by a bus driver near the mall where the crimes took place
The death toll of an attack by a man in the city of Beer Sheva (Be’er Sheva) in southern Israel rises to four. The attacker, identified as Mohammad Ghaleb Abu alQi’an, the BBC writes, was shot dead by a bus driver who stopped to help one of the victims. According to Israeli sources, the man is a 34yearold Bedouin from the Hura region. In the past, local media reported, he has been in prison for his association with terrorist groups. According to the Times of Israel, he is a supporter of IS. Two other people were hospitalized in severe but stable conditions. The attack was welcomed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
The attack
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Three victims including two women between the ages of 30 and 40 and a 35yearold man were shot dead. The fourth died after being hit by the attacker’s car. According to initial reports, the man drove to a gas station near a shopping mall, where he stabbed the first woman. As he got back into his vehicle, he collided with a nearby cyclist. Upon reaching the mall, he allegedly killed the other two victims with his knife. There he would eventually be killed.
The attacker’s background
Abu alQi’an, Israeli media recalled, served four years in prison after being arrested by Israeli security forces in 2015 for trying to reach out to Isis in Syria. According to the same sources, a teacher by trade, he had tried to recruit supporters of the Islamic State among the students.
Tensions in Israel
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Immediately after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Public Security Minister Omer BarLev and Police Chief Kobi Shabtai. “The security forces are on high alert and we will respond to the terrorists with a heavy hand. We will pursue and arrest he said even their accomplices”. Tension is growing in Israel: Beersheva’s third knife attack in the past week. In one of these attacks, a 20yearold police officer in the Ras alAmud neighborhood of east Jerusalem was slightly injured.
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