Palestinian driver suspected of killing Israeli to face manslaughter charge

Family angry at failure to press murder charge; Avraham Hasano, 54, was struck by vehicle when he emerged from his car, which had been pelted by rocks

A Palestinian truck driver suspected of running over and killing an Israeli man last year as part of the ongoing wave of terror attacks will face a reduced charge of manslaughter.

The unnamed suspect was arrested by the Shin Bet early last month, more than five months after the October 21 attack that killed Avraham Hasano on a West Bank road. The suspect, a resident of the West Bank village of Dahariya, had claimed he ran over Hasano by accident, fleeing the scene out of fear.

In the indictment, the suspect is accused of running over Hasano and dragging him for 37 meters (121 feet), before driving away and leaving the severely injured Israeli on the road.

After the incident, the suspect turned himself in to Palestinian police, claiming he had not intended to kill the 54-year-old Israeli father of seven from Kiryat Arba. He had previously been held at the Dahariya police station and then released by the Palestinian Authority being arrested by Israeli forces “following extensive intelligence activity,” the Shin Bet said in a statement last month.

Avraham Hasano is hit by a truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian ston throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi) — Avraham Hasano is hit by a truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian ston throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Hasano’s family reacted angrily to the news of the reduced charge, delivered to them by military prosecutors Sunday. One son told Channel 2 that he would sit shiva (the seven-day mourning period) all over again. Hasano’s wife said she was horrified by the decision. “It was like he was murdered all over again,” she said. The family said it had anticipated that the alleged killer would be charged with murder.

Images from the scene showed Hasano emerging from his car brandishing a large wooden club after his car was pelted with rocks by Palestinians near Hebron. He approached the truck, waving the club, and was run over. He died at the scene.

The suspect said he attempted to avoid hitting Hasano but did not have enough time to swerve out of the way.

Shortly after the incident, the driver called his Israeli employer to report that he had run someone over.