A man in his 70s ran over protesters blocking a road, wounding three of them mildly to moderately, in the latest violent incident coming amid increased vitriol from public figures against the Gaza hostage protesters. Dror Salay, who arrived at the protest and was present during the incident, said in a conversation on 103FM: "It looked like a hit-and-run, it seemed like he intentionally hit her."
"I was part of a protest march for the hostages, and... I saw a jeep with a driver confronting the protesters. What I saw was that the protesters gave him space so he could drive. And then, to my astonishment, instead of driving slowly, he accelerated to top speed while veering the car to hit an elderly woman standing in front of him."
דריסת המפגינים בתל אביב: מתיעוד נוסף ניתן לראות את הנהג מאיץ, דורס מפגינים, לאחר מכן מנסה לברוח, דורס מפגינים נוספים ובורח מהזירה. pic.twitter.com/5nk5r4IbHf
— Yollan Cohen יולן כהן (@yollancohen) April 6, 2024
He added: "It seemed like he aimed at her... He hit an elderly woman who was thrown onto the engine hood and then fell on the street. She was hurt, wounding her head and breaking her teeth. He also hit other protesters and fled the scene. The police arrested him, and he continued to curse and even tried to spit on the protesters."
Fueled by conspiracy theories and incitement from the Right
During the conversation, Salay referenced the incitement heard recently from public figures on the Right.
"After the incitement devoid of responsibility that we are seeing, including from ministers in the government against the protesters, using strange conspiracy theories and harsh expressions, this is the result. These people are incited," he said.
"This person seems to watch Channel 14 often; I saw a completely incited person. Full of anger and hatred, showing extremist views, they are convinced of things that do not make sense. Fanatics and crazies will always exist, but it looks different when these fanatics are in the government. This is an attempted murder, nothing else."
The attorney of the suspect in the alleged hit-and-run, Roy Keren, said: "The case is sad and tragic... This was not an intentional hit-and-run; apparently, a mechanical malfunction in the electric vehicle caused it to accelerate without the driver's ability to stop the vehicle immediately while doing everything possible to avoid hitting the protesters."