UTJ’s Goldknopf claims bus driver who hit and killed Haredi teen yesterday did so ‘maliciously’

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf states that there is no doubt yesterday’s incident, in which a Haredi teen was hit by a bus and killed near the Hasidic moshav of Komemiyut in south-central Israel was carried out “maliciously” and calls for the driver to be brought to justice.

“The new footage, which shows the bus driver accelerating toward the group of protesters, and the passengers stating that he was going wild, leaves no room for doubt that the action was done maliciously,” says Goldknopf.

Police stressed last night that, contrary to reports circulating online, there was no connection between the fatal accident and a Haredi protest that ended earlier near Komemiyut.

Goldknopf says that he spoke to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir about the incident, who “made it clear” to him that “he views the matter very seriously and that the Israel Police will do its job faithfully and investigate the incident to the fullest.”

“Minister Ben-Gvir emphasized in the conversation that ‘the blood of our Haredi brothers is not cheap,” Goldknopf says, demanding that “the driver of the hit-and-run be brought to justice.”

According to the MDA, medics and paramedics responding to the incident on Route 3533 at the Aluma Junction found 17-year-old pedestrian Naftali Zvi Kramer lying on the road with a severe head injury and no vital signs.

Police said they have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the fatal crash. Officers from the Kiryat Gat police station and traffic accident investigators are examining the scene, and the bus driver has been detained for questioning.

Last night’s incident is the second time this month that a Haredi teen has been struck by a bus and killed. Two weeks ago, Yosef Eisenthal, 14, was killed when a bus drove into Haredi protesters as tens of thousands attended an anti-conscription demonstration in Jerusalem.