2022 Beersheba attack

On March 22, 2022, four people were killed and two more were injured during a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack by an Islamic State supporter in Beersheba, Israel.

In early 2022, a string of clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians occurred, but mostly confined to the West Bank and Jerusalem,^[1] and not the Southern District in which Beersheba is located.^[2] The incident was the third such attack in a week.^[3]

Israeli and American authorities had expressed concern about the rise of attacks, which they noted could increase as the Muslim holiday of Ramadan would approach.^[4][5]

The attack began at around 16:10 pm^[6] when Mohammed Abu al-Kiyan drove over to a gas station in Derech Hevron street where he stabbed and killed a female employee.^[7] He then drove his car over to the BIG shopping center^[8] where he ran over a Chabad rabbi on his bicycle,^[9] killing him.^[10][6]

Kiyan then went to another neighbouring shopping mall.^[6] After stabbing a 47-year-old woman to death in the clothing section, he ran towards a roundabout where he killed a 67-year-old man.^[7] He was then approached by bus driver Arthur Chaimov, who initially thought a car crash had occurred but on closer inspection realized Kiyan had a knife. Chaimov told Kiyan to put his knife down and surrender, which the attacker refused to do. Kiyan lunged forward and tried to stab the driver, who took out a gun and shot him dead.^[11] Another man was also seen shooting at Kiyan, but his identity could not be discovered by police.^[12] Police arrived four minutes later.^[13]

Kiyan's rampage lasted for an estimated eight minutes,^[14] and was the deadliest attack of its kind in Israel since the 2017 Jerusalem truck attack.^[15]

Mohammed Abu al-Kiyan was a Hura-born member of Israel's Negev Bedouin community. A former school teacher, he had been arrested and imprisoned previously between 2016 and 2020,^[3] after he was reported to have taught schoolchildren to support the Islamic State and spread pro-ISIL propaganda.^[16] At one point Kiyan said that he wished to join the ISIL movement in Syria.^[17]

In 2016, Kiyan was sentenced to prison for promoting ISIL. He later apologized for his actions, and was released in 2019.^[12]

A relative told Kan 11 that Kiyan's family was "mentally stable" and that they were shocked by the killings.^[18]

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine both praised the incident, with the former saying that the "battle against the occupation continues and we will not stop."^[17] On March 23, the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah congratulated Kiyan, whose actions were praised as "a true expression of the spirit of jihad and authentic resistance by the Palestinian people."^[19] ISIL did not make a statement.^[20]

The attack was condemned by many Israeli politicians, including Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Yair Lapid, Isaac Herzog,^[21] and the Ra'am party.^[3][17]Yaakov Shabtai said that the police were concerned that possible copycat incidents could occur in the future.^[14]

El representante de las Naciones Unidas, Tor Wennesland, declaró que «no hay justificación para la violencia ni el terrorismo. No hay nada heroico en el asesinato de civiles y no hay excusa para alabar tales actos». ^{[ 22 ]} El embajador estadounidense en Israel, Thomas R. Nides, lo calificó de «despreciable ataque terrorista». ^{[ 23 ]} Además, el ataque también recibió condenas del embajador ucraniano en Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk , ^{[ 24 ]} el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores griego , ^{[ 25 ]} y el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin . ^{[ 26 ]}

Según informes, la casa de Kiyan en Hura fue objeto de un registro por parte del Shin Bet , ^{[ 13 ]} y medios palestinos informaron que muchas carreteras de la ciudad fueron bloqueadas temporalmente durante la operación. ^{[ 27 ]} Los hermanos de Kiyan fueron arrestados luego de que surgieran sospechas de que le habían dado el cuchillo utilizado en el ataque. ^{[ 28 ]} El Canal 12 dijo que 20 personas habían sido arrestadas durante una investigación policial. ^{[ 5 ]}

Al día siguiente, el Gabinete de Israel aprobó un plan para construir 10 nuevas ciudades en el Negev en respuesta, incluida la ciudad haredí de Kasif, Israel , propuesta anteriormente . ^{[ 29 ]}

El ministro de Policía, Omer Bar-Lev, causó un gran revuelo cuando prometió encarcelar al fallecido Kiyan durante el funeral de una víctima. ^{[ 30 ] [ 31 ]} Posteriormente, Bar-Lev se disculpó públicamente por su declaración, afirmando que no le habían avisado de que tendría que pronunciar un discurso y que tuvo que improvisarlo en el acto. ^{[ 32 ]}

El 24 de marzo, se produjo un ataque con pintadas en la aldea palestina de Zeita Jamma'in , donde vándalos desconocidos pintaron con aerosol las palabras "Los judíos no guardarán silencio cuando nos asesinen" en una mezquita. La policía declaró que estaba investigando el incidente, así como informes no confirmados de un intento fallido de incendiar el edificio. ^{[ 33 ] [ 34 ]}

Dos días después del ataque, los datos del Ministerio de Seguridad Pública revelaron que el número de solicitudes de licencia de armas de fuego había aumentado a 244, en contraste con el número normal de 60. ^{[ 35 ]}

El ex primer ministro israelí y figura de la oposición, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticó la respuesta del gobierno al ataque, afirmando que las autoridades israelíes temían abordar el tema del creciente terrorismo entre los árabes israelíes , ya que podría romper la coalición del gobierno con la Lista Árabe Unida . ^{[ 36 ] [ 37 ]}

El 27 de marzo, dos hombres armados mataron a dos agentes e hirieron a otros doce en Hadera antes de ser abatidos. ^{[ 38 ] [ 39 ]}

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