LONDON: Police in Jerusalem opened an investigation on Sunday into claims that an Arab bus driver was beaten unconscious by Jewish teenagers, Israeli media reported.
The driver, identified as Moatasem Al‑Qaq, began his shift on Saturday night and stopped at a red light at the Ramot intersection in northern Jerusalem when several youths started hitting the sides of his bus, according to the Jerusalem Post.
When he rolled down his window, the teenagers allegedly struck him, knocking him out and breaking four teeth, before he managed to flee and receive medical treatment.
The Times of Israel cited a statement by the Koach LaOvdim labor union saying the assault occurred on the No. 2 Superbus line, which had no passengers on board at the time.
According to the statement, Al‑Qaq lost consciousness for about two minutes after the teens beat him through the open window.
In the union’s account, the driver, identified only by the initial M, described regaining consciousness amid the attack.
People and police surround a bus that reportedly ran over ultra-Orthodox conscription protesters in Jerusalem on Jan. 6, 2026. (AFP file photo)
“When I came to, I felt blood in my mouth. Around me were curses and yelling and faces full of hate,” he was quoted as saying. “I got frightened and went through the intersection, but still wasn’t fully conscious and felt that I was losing control. Fortunately, I managed to park the bus.”
After escaping, Al‑Qaq contacted police and was taken to a hospital, Koach LaOvdim said.
Itay Cohen, head of the union’s transportation division, condemned the attack and called for improved security on Jerusalem’s buses, VIN News reported.
“Another line has been crossed in the violence against public transportation workers, and only the driver’s quick thinking prevented a disaster,” he said.
“What would have happened if, after this attempted lynching, he had crashed into another vehicle? We appreciate the work of Jerusalem’s mobile security unit, but it is unacceptable that only three mobile security officers are responsible for addressing violence on the city’s buses.”
The union also urged Superbus to promptly provide security camera footage of the assault to police.
Superbus said it “views the assault with the utmost severity and strongly condemns any act of violence against public transportation employees,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
The company said it is cooperating with police to identify and arrest the suspects and is providing support to the injured driver and his family while working to ensure the safety of its drivers and passengers.
Bus drivers in Israel say racist violence against Arab drivers has spiralled since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. (AFP file photo)
The case comes amid what labor advocates describe as a surge in assaults on Arab bus drivers by ultra‑nationalist Jewish youths in and around Jerusalem.
Last year, Israel Ganon, chairman of the Bus Drivers Association, told The Times of Israel that authorities were failing to respond adequately to the attacks.
“There is no punishment by judges, there is no enforcement from police, and this leads to the violence; it’s a very simple situation,” he said. “We are very angry at the police and the mayor because no one is doing anything to stop this.”
In February, Koach LaOvdim noted a 30 percent increase in attacks on bus drivers in 2025 compared with 2024, saying that in Jerusalem alone it recorded 100 cases of physical assault in which a driver required medical care.
One of this year’s incidents occurred in January, when teenage protesters surrounded a bus in the ultra‑Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Romema during a mass demonstration against military conscription.
Protesters surround a bus during an anti-conscription demonstration in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Romema in January 2025. (AFP file photo)
The Palestinian bus driver, Fakhri Khatib, operating Egged bus 64, found himself hemmed in by young protesters banging on the side of the vehicle, according to +972 Magazine. He called police for help, but none arrived.
In an attempt to escape, Khatib initially reversed the bus several meters. Protesters then pried open the door, forced their way inside and kicked, spat at and threatened him, leaving him fearing for his life.
He accelerated forward, unaware that a 14‑year‑old boy was clinging to the underside of the front bumper. The boy was dragged under the vehicle and later pronounced dead at the scene.
In December, two teenagers from the largely Haredi, or ultra‑Orthodox Jewish, neighborhood of Ramot were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an Arab-Israeli sanitation worker and attacking a bus driver, leaving the latter with a broken arm.
