IDF says officers shot knife-wielding Beduin on army base in South

An IDF officer shot and seriously wounded a Beduin man on a military training base in the South on Friday after a verbal altercation escalated, local media reported.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Crime scene [illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Crime scene [illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
An IDF officer shot and seriously wounded a Beduin man on a military training base in the South on Friday after a verbal altercation escalated, according to media reports.
The incident occurred on the training grounds of the Tze’elim base in the Eshkol Regional Council, just a few kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip.
According to Israel Radio, the incident occurred when the man, a resident of the Negev, drove his all-terrain vehicle onto an army firing range located on the Tze'elim base.
After refusing soldiers' orders to vacate the premises, the Beduin man pulled out a knife and, according to soldiers, began threatening them. At this point, witnesses say that the man lunged at one soldier, who pulled out a gun and shot the man in the back.
The shooting victim was then transported by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, according to Israel Radio.
The shooting range in Tze'elim is known to be an area that attracts thieves looking to peddle stolen metal, according to Israel Radio.
The IDF Spokespersons Unit said the army is investigating the incident.
Jewish-Arab tensions continue to simmer less than a month following the conclusion of Operation Protective Edge.
In a scene that has become emblematic of Friday prayers on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, masked men hurled firebombs and stones at police in the Mughrabi Gate, which leads to the historic site.
As worshipers descended from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a mob threw rocks at police forces, who were monitoring the traditional prayer sessions. Three rioters were arrested for disrupting the peace and taken into custody.
Not far away, three east Jerusalem residents, including a minor, were arrested in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan after they threw rocks at Jewish homes in the area.
They were taken into custody and held for further questioning.
The events come after Palestinians threw stones at a Jewish family's car overnight when the driver made a wrong turn and entered the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, which has recently become a flashpoint for violence following the death of an unarmed teen in the hands of Israeli police.
They family managed to exit the area and went directly to a police station to file a report. One of the family members was lightly injured in the attack, but received treatment.
Israel Police said it had conducted a search in the village for the assailants.