Northern Israeli indicted for racist assault of Arab doctor who stopped to help him

Liel Abadi charged with causing Dr. Mahmoud Masalha grievous bodily harm after telling him that ‘all Arabs need to die’

Illustrative: Israel Police officers on Route 90, October 11, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
Illustrative: Israel Police officers on Route 90, October 11, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

A resident of Kfar Pines in northern Israel was indicted on Tuesday and charged with assault that caused grievous bodily harm after he allegedly flagged down an Arab man for assistance and then attacked him last month.

According to the indictment, the incident occurred on December 25 near Kafr Qara where the victim, whose name was redacted in the indictment, lives.

Ynet identified the victim last month as Dr. Mahmoud Masalha, the manager of a pediatric clinic in Kafr Qara.

Masalha was driving when 18-year-old Liel Abadi flagged him down, the indictment said, at which point Masalha stopped at the side of the road and Abadi got into the passenger seat, smoking a cigarette.

Abadi then allegedly asked for a lift but did not say where to, and when Masalha agreed and asked him to dispose of the cigarette, Abadi allegedly recognized that he was Arab.

The indictment then quotes Abadi as having said to Masalha, “The truth is I want all the Arabs to die. You Arabs all need to die, and the truth is I’m here looking for Arabs.”

He then allegedly punched Masalha in the face multiple times before shoving his hand into Masalha’s mouth when he tried to call for help, injuring his tongue.

Masalha eventually managed to get out of the car after which Abadi moved into the driver’s seat, the indictment charges, leading Masalha to fear that Abadi would try to run him over, so he approached the car with a rock.

The indictment charges Abadi with proceeding to get out of the car and once again attacking Masalha, punching him repeatedly on his face and upper body before biting his left cheek.

According to the indictment, Abadi only stopped attacking Masalha when passersby, hearing Masalha’s calls for help, approached the scene, at which point Abadi fled.

Masalha was then taken to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, where he was diagnosed with a finger injury, a hematoma and a blood clot in his right nostril, and cuts to his bottom lip, tongue, hand, and nostril.

On the day of the attack, Masalha told Ynet that he had stopped because he thought Abadi needed medical aid.

Illustrative. A criminal in handcuffs. (Yakobchuk Olena/ iStock, by Getty Images)

“I treat Arabs and Jews and I always help. This is the first time I’ve been attacked like this,” he told the publication, adding that he believed Abadi would have murdered him if he had had a weapon.

According to Ynet, the police initially said the incident was not a racist attack and that Abadi had escaped a mental health institution before attacking Masalha, but the indictment filed on Tuesday does charge Abadi with racist motives.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the police did not say anything about Abadi’s motives but noted that he had been examined by medical professionals and found unfit to stand trial.

He has remained under arrest since December 25, however, and the prosecution requested that he remain in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

“The threat posed by the defendant is gleaned from his actions when he, for no discernible reason and with no prior background [with Masalha], attacked the plaintiff whose only ‘sin’ was his race,” the prosecutor wrote in the request.

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