Police arrest 12 suspects involved in riots, assaults in Mea She'arim
Five of the suspects arrested on Thursday are reportedly under the age of 18.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFIsraeli police officers clash with Ultra Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against the enforcement of coronavirus emergency regulations, in the Ultra Orthodox jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, October 4, 2020(photo credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)
Some 12 suspects were arrested by police on Thursday morning in connection with the assault of Ibrahim Hamed, the driver who ran over and killed a man in Jerusalem's haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Mea She'arim neighborhood on Sunday night during a demonstration against Purim restrictions, Israeli media reported.Five of the 12 suspects are reportedly under the age of 18.Hamed has stated that he lost control of the minibus he was driving after a haredi crowd attacked him and threw stones at his vehicle, referring to the incident as a hate crime."They wanted to kill me because I'm Arab," he said, according to Channel 13. Hamed fled the scene after plowing into 47-year-old Mevaseret Zion resident Itamar Ben Abu. He later turned himself in to the police.Hamed was released by police on Tuesday night and greeted by a festive crowd with music and chants of Allahu Akbar (God is Great), Palestinian media reported.Videos shared on social media showed Hamed being carried on supporters' shoulders in the Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood in east Jerusalem as the crowd cheered him on.Channel 13 screened a video from the scene where scores of haredi protesters can be seen blocking traffic against coronavirus lockdown rules. It showed a crowd of haredim throwing bottles and surrounding the minibus, which sped up and crushed Ben Abu against another car.
