Police arrest two suspects over beating of two Arab bus drivers in Jerusalem

Police earlier today arrested two people on suspicion of beating two Arab bus drivers in Jerusalem last week, following the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team’s loss in the State Cup finals.

The detained adult and minor from the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit are thought to be two of around a dozen Beitar fans who assaulted the bus drivers Thursday night.

Ahmad Qara’in, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, had been driving the soccer fans on the 77 bus line from their team’s home, Teddy Stadium, where the game was being broadcast live from Tel Aviv.

“They identified that I was Arab after they spoke with me, and they started, out of nowhere, to yell at me ‘Death to Arabs,’ to curse and to attack me. The whole time, more and more of them were joining,” said Qara’in to Haaretz after the incident.

תיעוד: אוהדי בית"ר מכים נהג אוטובוס@eli_zil pic.twitter.com/SLIxGM3Qic

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 29, 2025

He told the Hebrew daily that another Arab bus driver, Mohammad Siaj, arrived at the scene and helped him, but that the second driver was also attacked. “No one was helping me apart from that driver,” he recalled.

In videos shared on social media, fans can be seen punching a driver and throwing objects in his direction. Footage also shows the driver throwing the bus’s small trash can at the assailants in self-defense.

Police say that the two suspects were transferred for questioning at the Moriah police station in Jerusalem.

Officers will request that a judge extend their detention in the coming hour, a spokesman says.