Shin Bet declares Oct. 27 truck-ramming terrorism

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has determined that the Oct. 27 vehicular assault in Glilot, central Israel, was a terrorist attack.

Betzalel Carmi, 72, from Rishon Letzion, was killed and 39 people injured in the incident.

It is not clear what caused the delay in the announcement, given that the Israel Police said on Oct. 29 that “a police officer present near the scene at the time climbed into the truck’s cab and was attacked by the truck driver,” as shown in the officer’s body camera footage.

“As seen in the video, the officer fell from the cab due to the assault and immediately fired into the air out of fear for his life. Soldiers on the scene noticed the incident, fired at the driver and neutralized him,” police said at the time.

“Based on the investigation findings thus far and footage showing the truck being intentionally steered toward civilians, with no attempt to brake (no skid marks on the road) and allegedly even accelerating, the suspicion that the ramming, which harmed civilians, was carried out with a nationalist motive has grown stronger,” the Oct. 29 statement continued.

Preliminary autopsy results did not indicate that the driver had suffered a medical event that could have caused the crash, police added.

The truck driver, an Arab Israeli from the central city of Qalansawe, crashed into a bus full of retirees shortly after 10 a.m. local time.

They had arrived at the Israel Defense Forces’ Glilot base to mark the national day of mourning for the victims of the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.

Several people were trapped under the truck and had to be rescued before being evacuated to hospital.