Be’er Sheva Car Ramming Suspect to Be Charged With Attempted Murder

Israel’s Police on Thursday night said that a car ramming that occurred in Be’er Sheva earlier in the day was being treated as a terrorist attack.

An 18-year-old Israeli was wounded when a car driven by a Bedouin resident of Rahat drove into him, with the incident captured on security camera. The man was transported to Soroka Medical Center with bruised limbs.

Footage of the incident showed the car chasing the pedestrian onto the sidewalk, hitting him and driving off. The suspect was apprehended and questioned by police after attempting to flee, according to eye witnesses.

The 39-year-old Bedouin man will be brought before a court in Ashkelon on Friday under suspicion of “a terrorist act of attempted murder,” police said.

The suspect apparently recorded himself several days earlier going to the police station to report threats from a person that said: “Bedouins should get out of Be’er Sheva.”

“If you respect us – we will respect you. If you do not respect us – you will suffer,” the suspect said in the recording, adding, “Bedouins, everyone should be careful. Everyone should take care of themselves. No one should wait if they received threats like I did. No one should wait for the police.”