A driver who ran over and killed a man in Mea Shearim on Sunday night during a demonstration against Shushan Purim restrictions told police that he was attacked by a haredi crowd, causing him to lose control of his minibus.
“They wanted to kill me because I’m Arab. When I turned onto the street, they started attacking me and throwing rocks at me,” Ibrahim Hamed said, according to Channel 13.
Hamed’s remand was extended Monday by three days at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
Hamed fled the scene after plowing into 47-year-old Mevasseret Zion resident Itamar Ben Abu, but later turned himself in to police. He told them that he had sped up to avoid rocks being thrown at his minibus, causing him to lose control and run into Ben Abu.
Channel 13 screened a video from the scene where scores of protesters were blocking traffic against coronavirus lockdown rules. It showed a crowd of haredim throwing bottles at and surrounding the minibus, which sped up and crushed Ben Abu against another car.
“I was sure they were going to kill me,” Hamed said, according to Channel 13.