Police on Saturday arrested a suspect for allegedly raping a woman in front of her children after breaking into her home in Gedera, triggering protests in the southern town.
Along with the main suspect, who was nabbed in the West Bank, six other people were arrested in connection to the case. Police did not say what the others were suspected of.
All of the suspects are residents of the “Bedouin diaspora,” a series of unrecognized communities in the Negev Desert.
According to the statement, the evidence so far raised “a suspicion toward one family, which likely works in the city.”
Police touted the quick arrest and said the force’s actions were aimed at “restoring the required security to the public,” after facing criticism from Gadera’s mayor and residents.
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On Friday morning, the women reported the incident in a neighborhood WhatsApp group chat.
“My house was broken into. I was raped in front of my children. Be careful and lock your doors,” the woman wrote in her neighborhood in the morning, hours after the alleged rape took place.
Hebrew media published security footage said to show the suspect approach the building, then leave the area an hour later.
האונס בגדרה: החשוד תועד משוטט בשכונה, פורץ לדירה – ויוצא ממנה שעה אחרי
לכתבה המלאה – https://t.co/MwSV4b4uMn@SenyorEli pic.twitter.com/54mC4Ms2FJ
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) February 3, 2023
The incident sparked protests in Gedera, with Mayor Yoel Gamliel accusing police of “incompetence” and of failing to protect his constituents amid a series of unsolved break-ins.
The police responded by hitting back at the mayor’s “irresponsible” accusations and accusing him of seeking to “gain headlines and political capital on the back of a victim.”
“We woke up this morning to news of a shocking incident that has shaken the entire Gedera community and the entire State of Israel. We are witnessing the price of police incompetence, which time and again has abandoned the citizens of Israel,” Gamliel said in a statement. “We are at the forefront of the war on crime, yet we have received no response from the body entrusted with the enforcement of law and order.”
“A situation in which innocent citizens are left to fight on their own against burglars, car thieves, illegal aliens and violent criminals is unacceptable,” the mayor said.
Residents of Gedera protest after a woman was allegedly raped in her home on February 3, 2023. (Flash90)
Gamliel said he invited National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees police, to visit the town. Ben Gvir vowed to crack down on crime in the south as part of his campaign platform during last year’s election.
Ben Gvir arrived later in the day but was heckled by some of the 100 people who staged a protest in front of the mayor’s house, demanding that personal safety be restored in Gedera.
The local police force is understaffed, with only 10 officers assigned to the town’s over 30,000 residents, Channel 12 reported.
