A doctor from the intensive care unit at Ichilov Hospital was arrested on Monday around 2:30 a.m. after the police launched an investigation into his alleged involvement in a stabbing incident on Jabotinsky Street in Ramat Gan, which appears to have been sparked by a traffic dispute.
The doctor is suspected of being involved in a violent altercation during which a 34-year-old man from Petah Tikva was stabbed. Police are currently working to gather evidence from security cameras to reconstruct the events leading up to the incident.
The victim, recounting the attack to investigators, said: "I was standing at the traffic light on Jabotinsky in Ramat Gan, someone told me to roll down my window, and then three men approached me. I got out of the car too, and they started cursing at me. One of them stabbed me in the leg and fled the scene."
Doctor denies involvement, claims to have been on duty as United Hatzalah volunteer
The police have charged the doctor with conspiracy to commit a crime and causing bodily harm. However, during his interrogation, the doctor denied any involvement in the incident and claimed that at the time of the stabbing, he was on duty as a volunteer with United Hatzalah, actively responding to an emergency elsewhere.
The doctor also told investigators, "Many members of my family use the car." However, sources familiar with the investigation informed Walla that the doctor did not identify anyone else who could have been driving the car at the time, raising questions about why he cannot pinpoint who was using it during the incident. After his questioning, the police filed a request with the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court to extend his detention for another five days.
Judge David Yitzhak ruled that "there is a reasonable suspicion that the offenses attributed to him were committed [by him]," citing the involvement of a car owned by the suspect.
However, he noted that the doctor had cooperated with the investigation, denied the allegations, and claimed to have been elsewhere, suggesting that the strength of the suspicion remains low at this stage. Consequently, the court decided to release the doctor on bail to house arrest for four days, until April 9.
Attorney Vicky Shmuel, representing the doctor, told Walla that "police...acted in an improper and negligent manner and arrested a respectable person without cause. This is a disgrace to the Israel Police as a whole. We will pursue a civil lawsuit for false arrest and damage to his reputation."