The fatal ramming of 14-year-old Haredi teen Yosef Eisental on Wednesday in Jerusalem continues to reverberate, as the bus driver, Fakhri Khatib, 49, from east Jerusalem, is now suspected of causing death with indifference.
Police initially attributed the more serious offense of “aggravated murder” to the driver and sought to extend his detention by 15 days, even though they acknowledged already on Wednesday that he had been attacked by Haredi protesters demonstrating against military conscription and that he had called the police emergency hotline, reporting he felt threatened. Officers did not arrive for several long minutes. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extended Khatib’s detention by nine days and also attributed to him offenses of causing severe injury to a minor and reckless driving.
'Let someone get run over for everyone’s sake!': 4:30 minutes with no police officers
(Video: Yehuda Aharoni, Channel 14 News))
At the same time, anger flared in the Haredi community over a police statement issued to the public shortly after the incident. The statement said police were “acting to disperse a violent disturbance after a small group of rioters threw objects and eggs at officers, set trash bins on fire, blocked vehicles and attacked journalists.” Haredim criticized the police for emphasizing the protesters’ actions while mentioning the ramming only in passing, midway through the statement.
Shabtai Gerberzik, the police spokesman for the Haredi sector, told Kol Barama radio that “perhaps the statement should have been worded completely differently.”
According to Gerberzik, there was pressure to issue a statement about the disorder and the ramming around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. “From the police perspective, I don’t see a scenario in which this could have ended differently, given the short time between the report and the arrival of a patrol car,” he said, referring to the chain of events that led to the teen’s death.
The interviewer challenged the police framing of the incident and the focus on protesters rather than the ramming. “A spokesperson’s statement conveys cold information, not something emotional. We need to give the public information about what is happening at that moment. It’s possible the opening and closing of the statement should have been different. Sometimes it’s also because of time pressure. The statement isn’t everything, but it may have needed different wording,” Gerberzik replied.
Footage lasting about four and a half minutes from the scene shows a crowd surrounding the bus amid blocked roads and burning trash bins. Throughout the time the crowd encircled the bus, not a single police officer is visible in the area, despite a mass protest taking place nearby and despite the driver’s report that he felt threatened. Eventually, the crowd appears to count down, apparently before rushing the bus, and at the end of the count the driver accelerates. The person filming can be heard shouting, “Come on, let someone get run over for everyone’s sake!”
According to investigators, the ramming that killed Eisental began on Yirmiyahu Street in Jerusalem, where youths blocked the bus and attacked the driver. At that stage, the driver began driving, with two youths clinging to the vehicle — one of them Eisental, who was killed, and the other who was injured. The bus turned from Yirmiyahu Street onto Shamgar Street and later right onto Ohel Yehoshua Street, where it stopped. The route covered about 400 to 500 meters. Magen David Adom said that in addition to Eisental, three other youths were lightly injured.
‘Twenty children were standing in front of him. He is not the victim’
As noted, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday extended Khatib’s detention by nine days, after police requested 15. During Wednesday’s hearing, Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri said he had spoken with Police Commissioner Danny Levy following the incident and that Levy assured him police were treating the case “with full severity.” Senior officials from the Israel Prison Service and police attended the hearing in an unusual move.
During the proceedings, Khatib’s attorney, Jad Kadmani, questioned why Haredi protesters had not been arrested. Judge Sharon Lary-Babli countered by presenting police video footage and challenged him: “Tell me he didn’t see them. He didn’t see? Twenty children were standing in front of him.”
Footage: the moment driver Khatib was arrested
(Video: Section 27A of the Copyright Law)
Detailing the events as seen in the footage and investigative materials, the judge said the driver arrived at the scene and at some point the bus doors opened, with many youths crowding the entrance. The video shows the driver closing the glass partition as youths climb up, kick the partition and wave a stick. A Haredi youth is then seen climbing onto the bus and spitting at the driver through the partition. The driver accelerates rapidly, the youth falls from the bus, and dozens of youths standing in front of the bus are pushed aside.
“Another video shows the bus speeding toward the protesters,” the judge said. “Defense counsel claims the driver feared for his life, called police and could not reverse. I believe the driver felt in danger, and the phone call supports that claim. I also believe being spat on and attacked is a stressful situation. However, I do not believe driving quickly into a crowd is the correct option. The victim is the deceased, not the driver. I do not accept the claim that this is a political case.”
Attorney Kadmani argued that “only because Ben-Gvir is at the top of your pyramid does he determine these suspicions.” A police representative said the “very high level of danger posed by the driver is evident given the offense and the audacity of speeding toward a crowd of youths.” She said about 39 investigative actions are underway and that additional steps may follow. “We downgraded the charge after reviewing the case materials. That does not mean the suspicion has weakened,” she said.
Earlier, Jerusalem District Commander Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled, who assumed the post only Sunday, addressed the incident. “The serious event occurred at a central junction that was not part of the protest area,” he said. “We defined it as a vital traffic artery and kept it open to allow normal life to continue. The suspect bus driver was immediately arrested and taken for questioning, where he claimed he felt distressed and tried to leave the area. That claim does not lessen the severity of the incident. The investigation is continuing with full seriousness, examining all directions. Israel Police respect the Haredi public, and as district commander my door is open to dialogue.”
Thousands of Haredim took part in the Jerusalem protest against military conscription, as the coalition advances controversial legislation to grant draft exemptions to yeshiva students. During the demonstration, fires were lit on the roadway, and a Kan News crew was pelted with stones. Rabbi Yechiel Huna, who addressed the rally, compared military conscription to the Holocaust. “The authorities, then and now, with the help of collaborators from within, speak openly of a Holocaust, of the complete destruction of the Jewish people as a Jewish people. They want to realize the Zionist vision of ‘a people like all nations,’” he said.
Moshe, an eyewitness, told ynet that at the Shamgar junction, the driver was allegedly attacked by people banging on the bus. “To get out of the situation, he drove, with a child hanging on. The driver drove 70 to 80 kilometers per hour, reached the junction, turned, saw a child approaching and did not stop — and what happened we can see,” he said. Another witness said, “On Yirmiyahu Street, they stopped the driver and spat on him. He saw he had no way out, went into the Haredim and ran them over.”
‘Your body will not be here, but your soul will be’
Hundreds attended Eisental’s funeral outside the Ohel HaTorah yeshiva, where he studied, in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood. His father eulogized him, saying, “How everyone loved you, how pleasant it was to be with you. How we waited for you for Shabbat, for Yossi to be home. Your body will not be here, but your soul will be with us day by day, hour by hour.”
The father added, “Yossi, our Yossi. You ascend before the Throne of Glory, you are as close as can be. Tear open the gates of heaven, be an advocate for us. May God give me the strength to endure this trial. Pray for your mother — how much she invested in you, physically and spiritually. From the day you were born, I don’t think there was a day she didn’t pray for you. Be an advocate for her as well.”
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Police forces next to the bus involved in the ramming, Wednesday
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
6 View gallery
Bonfires at the Jerusalem protest, where one rabbi compared military conscription to the Holocaust
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday morning, “I feel deep pain over the loss of the life of the dear yeshiva student Yosef Eisental, who was run over to death yesterday at a demonstration in Jerusalem. The circumstances of this tragic disaster will be thoroughly investigated to draw all necessary conclusions and lessons. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Eisental family. At the same time, I call to prevent an escalation of tensions so that, God forbid, we do not experience further disasters. The sanctity of life is deeply rooted in our heritage, and we must safeguard it at all costs.”