AS IT IS 2015-10-20 Eritrean Shot, Beaten to Death by ‘Mistake’

AS IT IS 2015-10-20 Eritrean Shot, Beaten to Death by ‘Mistake’

An Eritrean died after being shot by an Israeli security guard and then beaten by a crowd of bystanders Sunday. 

Videotape showed an Israeli security guard shooting Mulu Habtom Zerhom as he crawled on the ground. The news sites reported that bystanders then kicked and beat Mr. Zerhom as he lay in a pool of blood.

Israeli police say Mr. Zerhom was shot after a Palestinian man stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier. The knifeman wounded 10 other people in that attack. It occurred at a bus station in the southern city of Beersheba.

Police say Mr. Zerhom, a migrant from Eritrea, was shot by a security guard after he was mistaken for a second attacker. As he lay on the ground, a mob of people cursed him, kicked him, and hit him with objects.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned¹ the beating death of the Eritrean agricultural worker, who was in his 20s.

The killing² comes at a time of panic and anger after several confrontations³ and attacks between Palestinians and Israelis. Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government has increased military presence in Israeli and Palestinian areas. His government has encouraged Israeli civilians⁴ to carry guns.

Mr. Netanyahu told members of his Likud Party on Monday that “No one should take the law into their own hands.” He also said that Israel is a “law abiding” country. He offered condolences to the man’s family. 

Police say they are reviewing security camera video to catch the people who beat Mr. Zerhom. 

Israeli security officials identified the assailant of the Beersheba bus station attack as a 21-year-old Arab-Israeli citizen. A police spokeswoman says the attacker was from the Bedouin town of Hura. Reports said the attacker had no past record of involvement with militants⁵.

The recent attacks have resulted in the deaths of eight Israelis and 41 Palestinians, and now, one Eritrean.

U.S. called for restraint

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for restraint Monday. He is scheduled to meet with Mr. Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas individually.

Mr. Kerry said, “we want to see calm restored and we want to see the violence stop. And I think everybody in Israel and in the region would like to see both of those things happen.”

Palestinians and Israelis are clashing over territory and holy sites. Israeli settlements continue to expand into the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The disputed, or occupied territory, is the main conflict between the two sides. 

Palestinian Muslims say Israelis are encroaching on the Al-Aqsa mosque⁶ in East Jerusalem. It is their third-most holy site and was built in around the year 700. It is also known as the Dome⁷ of the Rock.

Religious Jews refer to it as Temple Mount for a temple razed⁸ there in the year 70 . By law, Jews are not allowed to pray there. But over the past year, it has been visited by religious Jews who want to regain⁹ the site. That has led to increased tension and violence.

Secretary Kerry said Monday that Israel has made it clear to him that they have no intention of changing the rules of who can and cannot worship at the holy site.

Israel is blaming Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and a group called the Islamic Movement of inciting¹⁰ young people to riot. Palestinians say they are fed up with the small outlook for peace, lack of economic opportunity and the Jewish settlement in the lands they want for a future state.

Words in This Story

cursed – v.  to want something bad to happen to someone or something

crawled – v. to move along on the ground

encroaching – v. to come closer, to take over, to push boundaries

razed – v. to knock down, to flatten¹¹

intention – n. something someone plans to do

inciting –v. to cause someone to act in an angry or harmful way

fed up – phrase. have had enough

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

7 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

8 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

11 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。