Police announce arrest of two men for assault on Arab bus driver in West Bank

Police arrested two men on suspicion of assaulting an Arab bus driver near the West Bank settlement of Modi’in Illit last week, law enforcement announces.

Both suspects were released to house arrest under restrictive conditions yesterday.

Police say the two suspects broke into the bus and beat the driver as he was working a line on Tuesday afternoon last week. He was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries.

Part of the attack was caught on film by a bystander and posted to social media, police say. Officers were able to identify the two attackers and put out an arrest warrant for the pair.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police add. Footage from the assault shows two men near the front of the bus taking turns punching the driver, as he attempts to defend himself while still in the driver’s cabin.

The attack takes place amid a sharp uptick in brutal assaults on bus drivers by passengers during the course of their work, with many of the assailants targeting Arabs in particular.

Transit officials and lawmakers have been pressing for increased security on buses for years, and the Transportation Ministry issued a tender earlier this week for the establishment of a new security unit aimed at providing a rapid response to violence on buses.

The pilot program for the unit will see security guards deployed on motorcycles throughout the streets of seven different cities: Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Beit Shemesh, Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit and Rahat.