2022 Beersheba attack

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

The attack began at around 16:10 pm He then drove his car over to the BIG shopping center where he ran over a Chabad rabbi on his bicycle, killing him. Kiyan then went to another neighbouring shopping mall. Another man was also seen shooting at Kiyan, but his identity could not be discovered by police. Kiyan's rampage lasted for an estimated eight minutes, and was the deadliest attack of its kind in Israel since the 2017 Jerusalem truck attack. == Assailant ==

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, after he was reported to have taught schoolchildren to support the Islamic State and spread pro-ISIL propaganda. At one point Kiyan said that he wished to join the ISIL movement in Syria. In 2016, Kiyan was sentenced to prison for promoting ISIL. He later apologized for his actions, and was released in 2019. A relative told Kan 11 that Kiyan's family was "mentally stable" and that they were shocked by the killings. == Aftermath ==

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." ISIL did not make a statement. The attack was condemned by many Israeli politicians, including Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Yair Lapid, Isaac Herzog, and the Ra'am party. American ambassador to Israel Thomas R. Nides called it a "despicable terrorist attack". In addition, the attack also received condemnations from Ukrainian ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Kiyan's home in Hura was reportedly subject to a search by the Shin Bet, Kiyan's brothers were arrested after suspicions rose that they had given him the knife used in the attack. Channel 12 said that 20 people had been arrested during a police investigation. Police minister Omer Bar-Lev caused an uproar when he promised to jail the dead Kiyan at the funeral of a victim. Bar-Lev later publicly apologized for his statement, saying that he was not told he would have to make a speech and had to make up one on the spot. On March 24, a price tag attack occurred in the Palestinian village of Zeita Jamma'in, with unknown vandals spraying the words "Jews will not be silent when we are murdered" on a mosque. Police said they were investigating the incident as well as an unconfirmed reports of an unsuccessful attempt to set arson to the building. Two days after the attack, Ministry of Public Security data revealed that the number of applications for a firearms license had risen to 244, in contrast to the normal number of 60. Former Israeli Prime Minister and opposition figure Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the government's response to the attack, saying that Israeli authorities were afraid to discuss the issue of rising terrorism among Arab-Israelis as it could break down the government's coalition with the United Arab List. On March 27, two gunmen killed two officers and wounded twelve others in Hadera before they were killed. == See also ==