Israeli Court Lifts Gag Order, Identifies Soldier Charged With Murder in Highway Shooting

An Israeli court lifted a gag order Thursday, publicly identifying the soldier charged with murder in a deadly highway shooting as Moshe Hajaj, following requests from media organizations including Walla.

Judge Dr. Zaid Falah ruled that the principle of open court proceedings outweighed arguments for keeping the defendant's name sealed.

"The Courts Law stipulates that the court will conduct proceedings publicly," Judge Falah said in his decision. "The principle of public proceedings is a supreme principle, and only in exceptional cases will the court prohibit publication of defendants' names. The public's right to know is a constitutional principle, and there should be no deviation from it."

The judge said he carefully considered defense arguments about potential danger to the defendant's family members, but found them insufficient to justify maintaining the gag order.

"I accept the request and permit publication of his name, and in fact, permit publication of every detail in the indictment, and the proceedings in this case before me will be conducted with open doors," Falah concluded. He allowed the defendant's parents to kiss him before setting a hearing date on the prosecution's request to hold Hajaj in custody until the end of proceedings.

According to the indictment, the deadly chain of events unfolded on the night of January 8, 2026, around 9:15 p.m. on Route 6 northbound. Two vehicles were involved: a Kia carrying the defendant, his brother, and their girlfriends returning from an IDF event at the Western Wall, and a BMW carrying brothers Amir and Sharif Hadid, 26, from Daliyat al-Carmel.

A dangerous confrontation developed between the drivers involving passing maneuvers, sudden braking, and mutual disruptions to traffic.

The defendant's brother was driving the Kia while Amir drove the BMW. During the drive on the busy Thursday evening highway, the brother driving in the left lane moved to the right lane, then sharply cut back to the left, forcing the BMW behind him to brake suddenly and honk.

The two drivers then began switching lanes and passing each other while disrupting traffic. When Amir overtook the Kia and moved to the right lane, the deceased Sharif leaned his upper body out the passenger window and made hand gestures toward the Kia.

Inside the Kia, the defendant's brother said he was "going to get out and beat them up in a second," and the defendant told him to calm down and pull over. The girlfriends in the car, fearing a confrontation, urged the brother to calm down and stop, but to no avail.

As they drove in the right lane with the BMW ahead, Amir slowed down, signaled right and pulled toward the shoulder, apparently indicating for the Kia driver to stop. The brother continued driving in the right lane and repeatedly asked the defendant to hand over his weapon. The defendant held onto his weapon, cocked it, and informed his brother of this.

Eventually, while the BMW was driving ahead, the brother steered the Kia to the right side of the road beyond the yellow line and stopped. Amir, noticing this, also pulled to the shoulder and stopped about 30 meters ahead.

Throughout this time, the girlfriends were screaming at the defendant and his brother, urging them to stop and saying they were endangering them. The defendant ordered his girlfriend, also a soldier, to hand over her weapon, she refused, and both women continued screaming and pleading with their partners to stop, saying they would regret it.

Walla contributed to this article.