Photo: depositphotos.
In Tel Aviv, following a horrific incident, police detained two young men suspected of gang-raping a foreign tourist. According to Channel 9 Israel, the victim had met one of the rapists earlier in the evening at a club, and at the end of the evening, he and his accomplice offered her a ride home. However, instead, the woman was taken to another place, where she was brutally sexually assaulted, having previously been drugged.
Detention and investigation
The detainees are 25-year-old and 26-year-old residents of the Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. The police were able to arrest the suspects on the same day thanks to modern digital technologies and investigative techniques.
This case is disturbing because arrests and prosecutions for sexual offences in Israel are quite rare. According to the Association of Crisis Centres, approximately one in seven women in Israel will be raped in her lifetime. Moreover, 85 per cent of sexual assaults are committed by people whom the victims knew before. In 2019, the organisation reported that nine out of ten rape cases are closed by prosecutors without charges.
Other crimes and security in the country
At the same time, on the night of 7 October, police in Herzliya detained a suspect in a crime who was found to have an arsenal for a hit man. When checking the man’s documents, they found a suspicious device, which turned out to be a spy gun, as well as bulletproof vests, black gloves and masks. The incident highlights the urgent need to strengthen security and crime prevention measures in the region.
These tragic events call into question the safety of women in Israel and prompt calls for improvements in the justice system and support for victims of sexual violence.
