Jerusalem Court Orders Release of Bus Driver to House Arrest, After Killing Haredi Teen

The Jerusalem District Court accepted the appeal of bus driver Fahri Khatib, ordering his release to house arrest after he was involved in the fatal running over of 14-year-old Haredi teenager Yosef Eizental during massive anti-draft protests in the city two days earlier.

The court delayed the immediate implementation of the release following a police request for a stay of execution, allowing time to appeal to the Supreme Court, as reported by Ynet.

Khatib, a resident of East Jerusalem, had his detention extended by nine days in a lower court ruling on Wednesday, but the district court overturned that decision. Judge Tamar Bar-Asher Tsaban emphasized in her ruling that Khatib was attacked by dozens of Haredi protesters surrounding his bus near a large demonstration against IDF conscription on Yirmiyahu Street.

She noted that the deceased teenager was hanging on the front of the bus, making it unclear at this stage whether the driver was aware of him when he accelerated to escape the crowd."The driver was forced to stop after many rioters swarmed the bus, opened the doors from outside, entered it, and attacked the appellant," the judge wrote. "The appellant, feeling threatened, called the police and asked for help, but until the end of the incident, no police arrived at the scene. No police officer could be seen in the area."

She continued: "At some point, young people could be seen hanging on the bus from outside, in addition to those blocking its path. Subsequently, the way cleared, and the appellant began driving relatively quickly from the place, claiming it was due to the prior attack and fear of continued assault. Unfortunately, it turned out that two teenagers were hanging on the bus: one on the left side, who fell off at the start of the drive. From what I could understand, he was lightly injured and could be seen standing up and walking away. The deceased, however, hung on the front of the bus, and after driving tens of meters, tragically met his death."

The judge highlighted the key question: whether Khatib could have seen the teenager on the front of the bus. "As is known, one of the central questions to examine regarding the offense of causing death by negligence is whether the damage could have been foreseen, and in this case—the unfortunate death of the deceased," she stated. "In any case, and again, it is clear that I am not taking a position on the offense for which the appellant will be charged, if charged. It is hard to say that this is an offense indicating a level of danger justifying continued detention."

The court also found that none of the 39 investigative actions requested by police would be at risk of tampering if Khatib were released, noting his full cooperation and consistent statements. "I also examined the appellant's version, which includes a full account and complete answers to all questions presented to him, so the likelihood that his version will change due to information reaching him from now on, not through investigation, is slim," the judge added.

Initially suspected of murder under aggravated circumstances, the charge against Khatib was downgraded by police on Wednesday to causing death by indifference. In the prior hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, Judge Sharon Larry-Bavly stated that the investigation was not political and criticized Khatib's decision to accelerate forward, saying, "Tell me he didn't see them. He didn't see? 20 kids stood in front of him."

Video footage of the 4:30-minute incident shows Khatib attempting to reverse as the crowd blocks the bus, curses, sets fires to trash bins, and counts down before surging, with no visible police presence. Khatib claimed he felt in life-threatening distress, prompting him to drive forward after the countdown ended. Police confirmed he called the 100 emergency line beforehand, but forces at the nearby mass protest could not reach him in time.

Khatib was brought to Thursday's hearing in a security prisoner uniform, despite police clarifying it was not a terror case.

Ynet contributed to this article.