Killing of Yuval Kestelman

On 30 November 2023, two Palestinian gunmen, identified by Israeli Police as brothers Murad Nemer (38) and Ibrahim Nemer (30) from the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem, opened fire on civilians waiting at a bus stop on the Givat Shaul Interchange in Jerusalem. The attack occurred hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Three civilians were killed — 73-year-old rabbi Elimelech Wasserman, 67-year-old Chana Ifergan, and 24-year-old Livia Dickman, who was pregnant — and 16 others were wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

During the attack, 37-year-old Yuval Doron Kestelman, a lawyer from Mevaseret Zion employed by the Civil Service Commission and a former member of Israeli security forces, was driving nearby, noticed the shooting, and opened fire on the attackers, killing one of them and urging bystanders to flee. As soldiers, including Golani Brigade reservist Roi Eisenbach, arrived and engaged the remaining attacker, Kestelman was shot by one of the soldiers — either Eisenbach or Aviad Freija — after being mistaken for an attacker. According to witness accounts, Kestelman dropped his weapon, knelt, removed his jacket to show he had no other weapons, and shouted that he was Israeli, but was shot further times, including after standing up to draw attention. As he collapsed, he reportedly threw his wallet toward the soldier to indicate his identity. First responders at the scene, believing him to be an attacker, did not initially render aid. He was later taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center for surgery and died that evening.

The case drew scrutiny after Kestelman's body was initially released for burial without a full autopsy. A CT scan later found metallic bullet fragments in his chest and head, prompting exhumation; an autopsy performed 10 December confirmed an M16 rifle bullet and fragments, contradicting earlier claims made in the proceeding that released Freija from custody to house arrest. Forensic examination of Kestelman's jacket reportedly found no gunshot damage, supporting a finding that the fatal shots were fired after he had removed his coat and knelt.

A military court hearing on 5 December, presided over by Lieutenant Colonel Toby Hart, found that the suspect (Freija) had "fired unlawfully, not out of operational necessity," and placed him under house arrest. Investigations were opened by the Jerusalem District Police, later joined by the Military Police Investigation Unit following public pressure, as well as a police conduct probe ordered by the police commissioner and state attorney Amit Eiseman.

The incident sparked significant public debate in Israel over military rules of engagement, extrajudicial killings, medical treatment of the wounded, and the policy of distributing weapons to civilians. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi praised Kestelman's actions as heroic while emphasizing that soldiers should not fire on people who pose no threat or who raise their hands. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly addressed the case, later calling Kestelman's father to say his son was "a hero of Israel" and that an investigation would determine responsibility.