Days after the lynch that led to the death of Yigal YehoshuaHy”d of Lod, the ISA (Shabak) and Israel Police are continuing their investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack and claim to know the identities of all the perpetrators.
Investigators already have in their possession video material from Yehoshua’s dashcam that documents part of the lynch. According to a report on Channel 13 News, the attack commenced with a rock thrown at the window of Yehoshua’s car, smashing it. Another rock was then thrown at the car which broke another window and injured Yehoshua himself. The Arabs then pounced on the car and lynched the driver.
Yehoshua eventually succeeded in escaping the rioters – eight in total – and managed to reach the door to his home, where he collapsed.
Speaking on Galei Tzahal, police commander Yigal Ezra, the chief investigations officer in the police’s central command, said, “We are relating to this attack as a terrorist attack in every way. The investigation is being conducted together with the ISA. We will apprehend all the perpetrators within the next few days.”
Yigal Yehoshua passed away from his wounds on Monday, in Assaf Harofeh (Shamir) Medical Center. His family has made the decision to donate his organs.
Yehoshua, aged 56, was a resident of the Ganei Aviv neighborhood in Lod, and leaves behind a wife and two sons, aged eight and 22. He worked as an electrician and was known as someone who helped those in need, including Holocaust survivors and the elderly.
Effi Yehoshua, Yigal’s brother, related that Yigal was attacked on his way home from work, “by Arab rioters who lynched him with terrible cruelty. He was injured in the head, even though he eventually managed to escape them, and reached his home with his last breath. He collapsed as he got out of his car, and a neighbor who saw him called an ambulance. He never recovered from the attack, and didn’t give us a single sign of life afterward.”
Yigal Yehoshua was a well-known figure among the residents of Lod, Arabs and Jews alike. “People knew that he would help everyone,” his brother said. “And he was always happy to help. We knew that he wanted to donate his organs after he passed away. His motto was: First, live, but if you’re not among the living anymore, then give life to others.”