New and disturbing footage filmed inside the bus in the moments that the driver struck and killed Naftali Kramer, z’l, near Komemiyut on Tuesday raises serious questions about the background of the deadly incident.

The footage from the bus camera, published by Yisrael Hayom on Wednesday morning, shows that the driver was driving erratically before the “accident.” The frightened girls on the bus are heard panicking over the driver’s reckless behavior in the moment before the impact. “Here are all the bochurim. What is he doing?” they are heard saying. “He’s crazy! Oh no. These are bochurim-stop! What is this? What did he do, idiot!”

And then hysterical screams are heard after the fatal impact.

Following the footage’s release, initial reports said that the police upgraded the suspicions against the driver. He is expected to be brought to court on Wednesday for an extension of his detention on suspicion of the offenses of reckless manslaughter, negligent homicide, and endangering human life.

However, later reports said that the police and prosecution stated that, after consultations and a thorough review, including the new footage, there is no suspicion of an intentional ramming.

UTJ chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf responded to the footage, stating: “This morning I spoke with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, following the shocking footage from last night’s ramming in which the bochur Naftali Tzvi Kramer, z’l, was killed.”

“The new footage, in which the bus driver is seen accelerating toward a group of protesters and the passengers comment that he is going meshuga, leaves no room for doubt that the act was deliberately carried out. Minister Ben-Gvir made it clear to me during our conversation that he views the matter very seriously and that the Israel Police will faithfully do its job and thoroughly investigate the incident. Minister Ben-Gvir emphasized in the conversation that ‘the blood of our Chareidi brothers will not be left hefker.”

“We will insist firmly that the full extent of the law be applied to the driver who ran him over,” Goldknopf added.

In light of the footage, the niftar’s family is demanding that the police prosecute the driver to the fullest extent of the law.

“We will not rest until justice is served with the driver,” say sources close to the family. “This video is a ‘smoking gun’ that proves that the driver did not try to prevent the disaster, but acted wildly, endangering lives.”

The incident comes just two weeks after Yosef Eisenthal, z’l, was killed during a protest in Jerusalem. Despite video evidence showing the Arab driver accelerating toward the demonstrators, the judges released him, and the prosecution declined to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)