Man injured in hit-and-run at Jerusalem protest for soldiers with PTSD; driver arrested

A man was injured in a hit-and-run in Jerusalem on Wednesday, during a demonstration demanding better treatment for IDF soldiers suffering from PTSD.

The protester was taken to nearby Shaare Zedek Medical Center with mild injuries, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

The motorist quickly fled the scene of the demonstration near the Chords Bridge, and, following a search, was found by police in the Abu Ghosh area and taken for questioning.

The hit-and-run occurred as protesters moved to block a road leading into the capital and was the latest in a series of incidents where motorists have hit protesters in recent weeks.

In footage of the incident, a man is seen lying in the road as several people attempt to chase the car that apparently hit the injured man.

“A white Renault car that came out of the tunnel ran over three of them, and also almost hit a group of police officers who were there,” said fellow protester Hagai Ezran, speaking to the Ynet news site.

מפגין נדרס במחאת הלומי הקרב ליד גשר המיתרים בירושלים, מצבו קל@VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/cp7yJrZqQm

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 21, 2026

“Our goal was to raise awareness,” Ezran added, “and it was okay, but also a little disappointing. What’s sad is that only the incident… received resonance, and we are already really helpless.”

“We conveyed five demands to Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” he explained. “In general, it concerns immediate treatment of fighters who are released from the reserves; recognition and definition in law of combat veterans, because there are things we cannot receive, such as mortgages, life insurance, and more; and fixing the Rehabilitation Division, which has a labor dispute and everything is collapsing.

“But we mainly want to raise awareness that they have taken care of all the disabled IDF soldiers,” he said. “They don’t know what to do with us.”

According to statistics released late last year by the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, 58 percent of the some 22,000 wounded soldiers that have been treated since October 7, 2023, are suffering from PTSD and other mental health conditions.

The issue has taken on increased urgency in the wake of the Gaza war, with tens of thousands of soldiers having seen prolonged combat.

An army report from July 2025 noted 9,000 requests for recognition of “psychological suffering” submitted to military health services since the war began.

According to a Knesset report released in October, it was found that between January 2024 and July 2025, 279 Israel Defense Forces soldiers attempted to take their own lives. More than three-quarters of suicides in Israel last year were combat soldiers, a sharp rise from previous years.