Investigators from the Etzion Police Station completed their investigation into the shocking incident that occurred earlier this month, in which a man in his 30s from Jerusalem attempted to set a 12-year-old child on fire during a ride on a public bus on Highway 375, near Beitar Illit.
In the footage, the suspect is seen approaching the child, confirming his identity, and pulling out a plastic bottle filled with flammable material that he had prepared beforehand.
The video shows the suspect pouring the liquid onto the child's body and attempting to set him on fire with a lighter, while the child tries to fend him off.
The investigation revealed meticulous planning. The suspect admitted that the motive for the act was a strained relationship with the child's father, whom he knew from the synagogue in their neighborhood.
The suspect arrived the night before the incident at a gas station in Jerusalem and filled the bottle with flammable liquid. During his interrogation, he admitted that he initially considered kidnapping the child and locking him up, but ultimately decided to set him on fire in order to "cause great distress to his family."
The bus driver, who saw what was happening in the rearview mirror, immediately stopped the bus on Highway 375 and opened the doors to allow the frightened passengers to flee the vehicle for fear of a mass fire.
The suspect tried to flee towards open fields, but a fighter from the IDF’s "Hatz Yehuda" unit, who was in the area along with an IDF force, chased him down and arrested him shortly afterward.
Yesterday, a prosecution statement was filed against the suspect, and his detention was extended until Friday for the submission of the indictment.