(A7) Six Israeli Arab men were recently arrested in central Israel on suspicion they drugged and sexually assaulted a teenage Israeli girl.
The six suspects are all adults from the Israeli Arab town of Jisr az-Zarqa and Arab villages in the Wadi Ara area east of the coastal plain in central Israel.
On Sunday, Israeli police announced the arrest of the six suspects, and offered some details on the suspected rape.
According to a police spokesperson, the suspects were arrested last week after they allegedly gave a 13-year-old Israeli girl drugs and alcohol, then gang raped her repeatedly.
The primary suspect in the gang rapes, a 24-year-old Wadi Ara resident, is believed to have groomed the girl online through a social network.
After meeting the girl in person, the suspect took her to an abandoned building in central Netanya, gave her drugs and alcohol, then proceeded to rape her. Two other suspects took part in the rape.
The primary suspect raped the girl repeatedly, with the five other suspects taking part in the sexual assaults at various times.
A judge extended the arrest of the six suspects Sunday.
Investigators say they expect additional arrests in the case.
Following the announcement, the anti-assimilation group Lahava issued a statement condemning the rape as an act of “sexual terrorism,” and criticized Israeli media outlets for not noting the suspects’ nationality.
“These six vicious animals took advantage of a helpless girl’s naiveté, gave her drugs and alcohol, then brutally raped her.”
“They did it because the girl they raped was Jewish. They did it as part of their war on the Jewish people, in order to humiliate and hurt our daughters and their honor.”
“We call this phenomenon ‘sexual terrorism’ – the sex crimes Arab men commit against Jewish women out of nationalistic motives.”
