Man to face charges for allegedly trying to set boy on fire on bus

Prosecutors are preparing to indict a man who allegedly tried to set a 12-year-old boy on fire while on a bus traveling through the West Bank, police say.

While headed to the Haredi settlement of Beitar Illit earlier this month, the suspect approached the boy and pulled out a large plastic bottle filled with gasoline. He doused the boy in the flammable liquid then attempted to set him on fire with a pocket lighter, but was unsuccessful, police say. The boy sustained minor injuries to his arms as he tried to fend off his attacker.

After realizing what was going on, the driver stopped the bus to allow passengers to escape in case of a fire. The suspect tried to flee the scene along with the passengers, but was caught by IDF forces and brought to the Etzion police station for interrogation.

Security camera footage of the bus’s rear door captured parts of the attack. In a video shared by police, an individual outside the frame drenches the boy and the surrounding area in liquid. Soon after, the boy is seen struggling against his concealed attacker in the right-hand margins of the clip.

Prosecutors to file charges against a man suspected of trying to set a 12-year-old boy on fire on a public bus, after an argument with his father pic.twitter.com/t3PEehU4S5

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) February 11, 2026

Police say the alleged arsonist, a resident of Jerusalem in his 30s, sought to harm the boy in order to get to his father after relations between the two men soured. The suspect originally plotted to kidnap the boy but gave up on the plan, deeming it too complex, they add.

The State Attorney’s Office will indict the suspect by the end of the week. A prosecutor’s declaration was filed against the man today and he will remain in detention until at least Friday.