Prosecutors Delaying Decision in Fatal Jerusalem Bus Death Case

Police in Jerusalem have finished investigating the January death of Yosef Eisental, a teenager killed during a Haredi protest in the city, and recommended indicting the bus driver for causing death with indifference. The driver, described in the report as Arab, was released shortly after the incident and has remained free since then.

According to the report, the prosecution has still not decided whether to file charges. A senior Jerusalem District police source told Channel 14 that the prosecution has repeatedly obstructed the case and had opposed extending the driver’s detention. He said the delay sends “a very problematic message,” adding, “A young boy’s life was taken and the prosecution refuses to see the consequences. In the meantime the driver is walking free.”

The prosecution said the file is being reviewed and no decision has yet been made, stressing that this is a routine and standard examination process and not a delay in handling the case. Police, however, have insisted on pursuing the matter and ended their investigation with a clear recommendation to prosecute.

The report says the bus was blocked by protesters on Jerusalem’s Yirmiyahu Street, then continued through the Yirmiyahu-Shamgar intersection and stopped on Ohel Yehoshua Street, about 400 to 500 meters later. Witnesses said the bus was traveling around 70 to 80 km/h while Eisental was hanging from its exterior, and he was dragged under the wheels during the turns. MDA paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene after his body was recovered, and three other people suffered minor injuries. Police also said the driver had called emergency number 100 to report an assault by rioters before the fatal drive, and that the intersection was open to traffic and outside the protest area when he said he felt threatened.