Residents of Bat Yam held a protest Thursday evening after a young resident of the city was raped last weekend by a Palestinian Arab on one of the city's beaches.
The suspect in the act, an Arab from Hebron, was arrested when he tried to cross the border crossing, and his detention was extended today in court.
The protest was led, among others, by a number of activists of the Otzma Yehudit party.
Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot said at the end of a situation assessment with the local police station commander earlier Thursday that "this is Palestinian terrorism, which sometimes murders Jews in Jerusalem and sometimes murders the souls of young Israeli women in Tel Aviv or Bat Yam. It doesn't matter if the rapist had work permits, or if he shouldn't have been in Gush Dan that night. We thank the police for their professional and quick work that led to his capture, but call on the judicial system to make the punishment more severe. At the same time, we will also act hard against the employers who are involved in lodging Palestinian workers in the city."