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Innocent foreigner shot by Israeli police during bus station attack

Netanyahu offered condolences to the man’s family, and police say they are reviewing security camera footage to identify and catch the people who beat the man.

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The stabbing attacks have provoked fear among Israelis, with around 30 having occurred since October 3.

Video footage circulating on social media sites showed blood stains on the ground at the bus station and windows pierced with bullet holes.

Tensions and violence between Israel and Palestine have risen in recent weeks leaving many dead and injured. It soon spread to the Arab neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem and then to the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. Such visits are coordinated with Israel.

Deputy Director for Program Affairs at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights Hamdi Shaqqura spoke in an exclusive interview to Sputnik, saying, “I am based in Gaza but we monitor the situation in Jerusalem as well, and what we have seen so far is an extensive military presence so far”.

Eight Israelis and more than 40 Palestinians, including assailants have been killed in the violence.

Others are calling for the swift prosecution of the crazed mob that attacked the young Eritrean man at the bus station in the southern city of Beersheba.

“Israel can not accept the French draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council”, Netanyahu said.

A proposal by France for an worldwide observer presence at the holy site has been rejected by Israel and the US.

Emanuel Nahshon, spokesman for the foreign ministry, said the step has no political value but is only part of additional security measures.

The unrest erupted in Jerusalem a month ago over tensions surrounding a Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims.

According to the police, the attacker stabbed a soldier and stole his weapon, opening fire on the crowds at the bus terminal.

Israel has deployed thousands of police, backed up by troops, to maintain order after a spate of attacks, mostly stabbings, by Palestinian assailants. She says security officers arrested one of al-Okbi’s relatives on suspicion that he assisted the attacker.

Nitza Neuman-Heiman, from Soroka Hospital, said he died from both gunshot wounds to the abdomen and the injuries sustained during the attacks by bystanders.

Police officials told the Associated Press that an Israeli soldier was killed, five police and five civilians were wounded in the attack.

Late Monday, the police, who said they “considered this incident as extremely serious”, were reportedly hunting for those who were involved in the killing of 29-year-old Haftom Zarhum who was thought to be in the bus station, returning home after collecting visa papers in the southern Israeli city.

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Reasons for the man’s shooting are still unclear.

Israeli border police check Palestinian's IDs at a checkpoint as they exit the Arab neighborhood of Issawiyeh in Jerusalem Sunday Oct. 18 2015. Palestinian assailants carried out a series of five stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank