The Jerusalem District Court today (Thursday), contrary to the police position, ordered the release to house arrest of Fakhri Khatib, the bus driver who ran over and killed yeshiva student Yosef Eisenthal, the late 14-year-old from the Ramot neighborhood - at the end of the extremist demonstration in Jerusalem against the draft decree.
After a request for a stay of execution, the State Attorney's Office rejected the police's request to appeal to the Supreme Court the driver's release - and he was released to three days of house arrest.
According to a report on Channel 12, the driver, a 50-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, was dressed in the uniform of a security prisoner, even though immediately after the fatal attack suspicion was removed. When his defense attorney, Jud Kadmani, asked the IPS officers why he was dressed like that, even though the police themselves stated that it was not a terrorist attack, one of the prison guards replied: "It's the jacket they have.".
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
During the hearing, a representative from the Jerusalem Police was reprimanded after presenting to the judge things that were not even said by the driver in the interrogation room. According to the report, the police representative provided versions "that the driver presented during the interrogation" that were not even said, and the judge reprimanded: "He didn't say that.".
According to a report by Liran Tamari on the Ynet website, in her decision, District Judge Tamar Bar Asher emphasized that the bus driver was attacked while surrounded by dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters, and according to her, the boy who was run over and died was hanging from the front of the bus - in a way that makes it difficult for now to determine whether the driver was aware of this when he decided to try to break through the crowd. She also emphasized that the driver is cooperating with the investigation and that there is no danger that justifies his continued detention.
The judge mentioned in her decision the circumstances of the runover. "The appellant was forced to stop after many of the rioters climbed onto the bus, opened the doors from the outside, entered it and attacked the appellant," the judge wrote. "The appellant, who felt threatened, called the police and asked for their help, but by the end of the incident, no police had arrived at the scene. Nor could any police officer be seen in the area.
""At a certain point, it was possible to see the young men hanging from the bus from the outside, in addition to those who were blocking its passage. Subsequently, the road cleared and the assailant began to drive relatively quickly from the scene, according to his version, this stemmed from his earlier attack and his fear of further attacks. Unfortunately, it turned out that two young men hung from the bus: one hung from his left side, and as the journey began, he fell off the bus. All I could understand was that he was slightly injured, and he could even be seen standing up and walking away from the scene. The deceased, on the other hand, hung from the front of the bus, and after driving for dozens of meters, unfortunately, he died.".
The judge continued: "The main question that will be decided is whether the appellant could have seen the deceased hanging from the front of the bus, or whether there was no such possibility. For, as is known, one of the main questions that must be examined regarding the offense of causing death by negligence is whether it was possible to foresee the occurrence of the damage, and in our case - the unfortunate death of the deceased. In any case, and again, it is understood that I am not taking a position on the matter of the offense with which the appellant will be accused, if he is accused. It is difficult to say that this is an offense that indicates a level of dangerousness that justifies continued detention.".
According to the judge, none of the 39 investigative actions that the police are seeking to perform are such that there is a concern that they will be disrupted if the driver is released. "I have also examined the appellant's version, which includes a full version and full answers to all the questions presented to him, so the likelihood that his version will change in light of information that will come to his attention from now on, not through the investigation, is slim. Also in light of the fact that the appellant cooperated fully, it is doubtful whether it can be said that there is a concern about disruption in the continuation of his investigation.".
Yesterday, the police softened the charge against the driver for aggravated murder - to manslaughter.
The Magistrate's Court extended the suspect's detention by nine days and the judge ruled: "I believe the driver that this was a stressful situation. However, I do not believe that driving into the crowd is a reasonable option, as we have seen its consequences are severe.".
However, the driver, through his lawyers, appealed to the District Court and requested to appeal the decision to extend his detention.
This morning, it was decided, as stated, to release him to house arrest for only three days.
The stampede occurred on Tuesday, during a demonstration against the draft decree for the IDF. The demonstrators blocked central roads in Jerusalem, burned trash cans and crowded around a bus line 64 of the 'Extra' company that was passing by.
The unusual confrontation that developed at the scene ended in tragedy: the late Yosef Eisenthal, a student at the Ohel Torah yeshiva in Ramot, was run over by a bus and trapped underneath it. Three other protesters were slightly injured in the run-over incident.
