Acting contrary to the position of the police, the Jerusalem District Court on Thursday accepted the appeal of Fakhri Khatib, the Arab bus driver who plowed into a group of Chareidi teens, killing Yosef Eisenthal, z’l, and released him to house arrest.
The appeal was filed by Khatib’s defense attorney following the court’s order on Wednesday extending his detention by nine days.
However, the court ruled that the release would not be carried out immediately, following a police request for a stay of execution that would allow them to possibly appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Khatib was brought to the hearing dressed in a security-prisoner uniform, and when his defense attorney, Jad Kadmani, asked Israel Prison Service personnel why he was dressed this way—despite the police themselves stating that a terror attack had been ruled out—one of the prison officers replied that “this was the only uniform we had.”
District Court Judge Tamar Bar-Asher said she is not taking a position regarding the driver’s offense but based her decision on the fact that she believes that his offense “does not indicate a level of dangerousness that justifies continued detention” and there are no concerns of the suspect obstructing the investigation.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Of course, the child was Chareidi! Who thought otherwise!
Imagine it would have been the other way round; a settler or soldier killed (accidently) an Arab or even a terrorist: No downgrading to negligence and no release to house arrest.
Those who have mercy on the wicked end up being cruel to the righteous!
Note that he was arrested, and more importantly, was NOT giving a medal or cheered as a hero by the secular majority in Ertetz Yisrael. This suggests it was an accident, and not deliberate.
Yosef Eisenthal, z’l,
Please state the facts correctly:- the correct format is:-
Yosef Eisenthal הי”ד
What a disgrace. They’re already preparing the hot baths for these so-called “judges” in Gehenom. Erev rav 2.0.
An explanation of what was reported in Israeli media as to the reason behind this decision:
The argument for his release to house arrest was that (a) he called the police and reported that he was being attacked and asked them to come rescue him before the incident; (b) he stated that he could not see the boys who were hanging on to the bus – and some angles of video of the incident seem to support this; (c) he drove his bus toward an area that had opened up in front of him – not directly into the crowd; (d) his story has been consistent – and not contradicted by video recordings – throughout the process; (e) he has answered all questions by the police – he has not asserted his right to remain silent; and (f) further investigation by the police will not involve anyone or anything where he can influence the conclusions if he’s let out.
Given the above, he was not considered a risk to others or to the integrity of the investigation if he was let out. As Israel works on an “innocent until proven guilty” premise, and as he was not considered a risk, there was little legal justification to keep him in jail.
I take no position on whether or not he should have been let out – this is only a description of what was reported.
an Israeli Yid
As usual:
Arabs in Israel are first class citizens and Haredi Jews are… third class.
an Israeli Yid:
You are a mechutzaf to insert informed reasoning, fairness, and objective facts into this discussion.
why were religious teens threatening and counting down to attack an Arab bus driver? It’s easy to point fingers and blame others instead of looking within at the divisions within ourselves and our society which has led to this tragedy…the last protest it also got chaotic towards the end and a teen died jumping off a building…having this bus driver in jail will do nothing to solve our nations problems. Let’s look within.
@anIsraelYid and Shlomo2 – even if you drink the driver’s koolaide, it would still be negligent homocide or manslaughter – serious offenses that would never result in home detention in normal countries. In halacha he would be getting the sword – or a goel hadam would take care of it, if he was a Yid. Apparently you have no issue with bus drivers speeding through crowds, as long as the crowds are chareidi. Shame.