Arab bus driver stabbed by Jewish teen in Purim night attack in Modiin Illit
Video shows Ahmed Abu al-Hawa attacked ‘for no reason’ in Haredi West Bank settlement; suspect yet to be apprehended
A Jewish teenager assaulted a Palestinian bus driver in the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit late Sunday, video from the scene showed.
According to a police statement, the driver complained that “when he stopped the bus in Modiin Illit, a minor boarded the bus and, for no reason, stabbed him in the hand multiple times with a sharp object, injuring him and forcing him to seek medical attention.”
“The West Bank region’s Modiin Illit police station has launched an investigation to apprehend the suspect,” the statement continued.
The Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency identified the driver as Ahmed Abu al-Hawa of East Jerusalem.
The attack was caught on the “Kavim” bus’s security camera. The footage showed the bus’s door open as the driver gets ready to smoke a cigarette, when a youth in ultra-Orthodox garb rushes into the vehicle and stabs him in the hand repeatedly for 10 seconds. According to the video’s timestamp, the attack took place at 8:15 p.m.
Commenting on the video, a journalist for the ultra-Orthodox media outlet HaMehadesh alleged that the youth was drunk, a claim that could not be verified. However, the attack took place shortly after Purim, a Jewish holiday marked by drunken revelry, drew to a close.
שיכור תקף הלילה נהג אוטובוס ערבי של חברת 'קווים' בעיר מודיעין עילית. המשטרה חוקרת את פרטי האירוע. pic.twitter.com/MdoUm2FH9i
— מנחם קולדצקי (@nbjovsr88) March 24, 2024
A separate, unverified video of the bus after the assault showed numerous blood stains around the driver’s seat.
Bus drivers have been threatened in the past and even attacked in Modiin Illit.
