Two Eritreans Killed, Multiple Wounded in Tel Aviv Brawl Over Eritrean Politics
Source: Ha’aretz
Attackers allegedly stabbed multiple people and threw teargas into a church, wounding several members, including children. Tel Aviv’s police chief called the situation ‘unacceptable,’ and called for the attackers to be deported.
Police stand guard near the body of one of the victims of the attacks in south Tel Aviv, Saturday morning. Credit: Tomer Applbaum
Aug 24, 2024 5:20 pm IDT
One of the victims was found by the emergency services in the Hagana Street and the other on the nearby Levinsky Street. Two other asylum seekers were seriously wounded, two were moderately wounded, and one is in a light condition. They were taken to the Sourasky Medical Center. No suspects have been arrested yet.
The police said in a statement that one of the officers, who felt an immediate danger to his life, fired warning shots into the air.
Tel Aviv Police District Commander Peretz Amar, who arrived at the scene, called the situation “unacceptable,” and claimed that the government should deport the perpetrators from Israel.
“The police alone cannot handle this enclave of southern Tel Aviv without assistance from government ministries. Those who commit serious crimes must be deported, and the attorney general should support [such a move],” he added.
“This simply cannot continue to happen. The police are here in large numbers at the expense of other tasks. It’s a pity that these processes don’t have a conclusive result, such as the deportation of outlaws.”
A source within the Eritrean community told Haaretz that the brawl began after one of the victims, who was on his way to work, was attacked by unknown individuals. Clashes later ensued on Levinsky and Levanda streets, where the Eritrean church in Tel Aviv is located.
Police forces broke into the church, smashed several doors and entered the prayer area with their shoes on.
“The attackers act like they’re heroes when they go after women and children. We need to catch them,” a church member named Yohannes told Haaretz. “[When the police arrived,] we told them that we’d open the place for them, but they entered anyway and broke things,” he added.
Avrahala, who also attended the church, told Haaretz that two children were hurt by tear gas sprayed by one of the attackers.
“We can’t leave now, we’re afraid they’d beat us,” he added. “We called the police, but they act against us. This is lawlessness. Either help us or don’t, but why do [the police] break things?”
Mosi, one of the children who were hurt by the tear gas, said he saw the men who sprayed it. “I was in the church when I heard shouting. It was strong and the gas burned. Now the attackers are hiding everywhere, and we can’t leave,” he said.
Sources in Tel Aviv’s Eritrean community told Haaretz that they had warned the police about the growing potential for violence that could erupt due to the approaching anniversary of last year’s deadly clashes that resulted in the wounding of 157 people – including asylum seekers and police officers.
“We’re constantly threatened on Saturdays,” one of the Eritrean church members said. “All of last week we asked the police to come here. Everyone is on leave, so they came to the church. There was a big mess last week as well, and we asked for help from the police after people were attacked with tear gas.”
They added that Saturday’s brawl began “when the girls finished their prayers and someone arrived and sprayed tear gas. Then another person was stabbed. The clashes then continued into Hagana Street.”
Since the riots in southern Tel Aviv last September, nine Eritrean nationals have been killed in internal community disputes.
Two Eritreans in their thirties were killed on Saturday in a massive brawl on Haganah Street in southern Tel Aviv, which broke out between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Two Eritreans killed, others wounded in brawl between regime opponents, supporters
Eight individuals were wounded, with two in serious condition.
By URI SELAAUGUST 24, 2024
Two Eritreans in their thirties were killed on Saturday in a massive brawl on Haganah Street in southern Tel Aviv, which broke out between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime.
The Tel Aviv District Police Commander subsequently conducted a situational assessment at the scene.
Magen David Adom (MDA) teams arrived at the two locations where the incidents occurred and performed medical checks on the two deceased, ultimately pronouncing their deaths. Eight others were wounded, with two in serious condition.
Preliminary investigations suggested that a police officer at one of the incident locations feared for his life and fired shots into the air. District Commander, Major General Peretz Amar, arrived at the scene to oversee the situation and ordered extensive searches and reinforcements in the area.
Brawl participants armed with weapons, tear gas
Footage of the brawl shows participants running toward a church armed with weapons and tear gas spray.
“We received a report of a fight between several men,” said MDA paramedic Simcha Simanduyev and senior medic Shoham Levy. “We arrived with a large force and saw chaos. We coordinated with police forces and began triaging the injured. Two men were unconscious, with no pulse or breathing, and suffered severe injuries. We conducted medical assessments, but their injuries were critical, and we had to pronounce them dead at the scene.”
“Two more people were in very serious condition, while two others were fully conscious but sustained moderate injuries. We provided medical treatment and evacuated them in MDA intensive care units to the hospital. Other teams treated several more conscious individuals with minor injuries on-site.”
Subsequently, Haganah Street from Levanda Street to Etzel Street, Levinsky Street to Levanda Street, and Levana Street to Antabi Street were closed to traffic.
Itamar Avneri, a city council member from the “Purple City” movement and the “We are All the City” faction, commented, “In recent months, we’ve seen how the government’s longstanding neglect of the Eritrean population, along with the municipality’s disregard for southern Tel Aviv, has created a divided city. Long-time residents of the southern neighborhoods, along with refugees and asylum seekers, are being left to fend for themselves. Beyond the immediate police response, there’s a need for reform in national and municipal welfare policies to prevent these types of incidents from recurring. Everyone deserves to live in safety and peace, but the authorities remain silent, ignoring repeated warnings from the Eritrean community about the volatile situation, and this is the result.”
The Eritrean church in Tel Aviv issued a statement saying, “A short while ago, several worshipers were injured by stabbings and tear gas as they left the church. We contacted the police to request intervention. We emphasize that the church opposes violence and is not involved in the conflict between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime.
“We urgently request police assistance in combating violence. Previous appeals to the police have been ineffective.” The church also reported that “officers responding to the incident damaged church property, including photographs, prayer equipment, and recording systems.”
Martin Plaut 