The man killed in a suspected ramming attack in Glilot on Sunday has been identified as Bezalel Carmi, 72, a father of four from Rishon Lezion.
Police have not yet determined if the incident was an accident or an attack. Hundreds gathered for Carmi’s funeral at the Gordon Cemetery in his hometown.
Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich wrote: "Bezalel leaves behind two Holocaust survivor parents, Abraham and Rivka, along with four children—Uri, Anat, Yuval and Shlomit—and grandchildren. A psychologist by profession, Bezalel was an educator with the Youth Aliyah movement, an organization dedicated to education, Aliyah and Zionism. Bezalel’s family has deep roots in the city, where he raised and taught generations of people.
"During a tour with a group of retirees in the Glilot area, he was struck by a truck as he stepped off a bus. It’s still unclear if this was an attack or an accident, but it was a tragic and devastating event. Bezalel's life and story were cut short in an instant. Rishon Lezion shares in the family’s profound grief and mourns his passing.”
The driver, identified as Rami Nasrallah from the Arab town of Qalansawe, reportedly had about 70 previous traffic violations. His body was sent to Tel Aviv’s National Center of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy to determine if a medical event, such as a heart attack, might have contributed to the incident.
Nasrallah’s family has denied any terrorist motives, claiming he had a heart condition and had recently undergone open-heart surgery.
"It was not an attack," said his brother, Mahmoud Nasrallah. "My brother has health issues and wouldn’t do such a thing. He is a simple man just trying to earn a living and go home. He has no connection to anything like that, either closely or distantly."
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