Sexual assault victim (stock image)
Sexual assault victim (stock image)i-Stock

An Israeli woman who was gang raped by a group of six Israeli Arabs more than a decade ago has been formally recognized by the state as a victim of terror, after the Defense Ministry refused her initial claim for recognition, Haaretz reported.

The young woman, identified only as “A.H.”, was 16 at the time of the incident, which took place on the Sironit Beach in the coastal city of Netanya 11 years ago.

While out drinking with a friend, A.H. and a female friend were accosted by a group of six Israeli Arabs from the town of Qalansawe in central Israel.

After the girls rebuffed their catcalls, the six perpetrators abducted the two girls, forcing them into a car and driving them to the beach. There, the six men raped A.H. repeatedly.

When A.H. applied for status as a victim of terrorism, the Defense Ministry rejected her request.

On Monday, however, an appeals committee overturned the initial Defense Ministry decision and granted A.H. recognition as a victim of terror.

Though the Defense Ministry has in prior cases recognized rape survivors as terror victims, there were often extenuating circumstances, including past ties to terror by the perpetrator.

Nevertheless, the committee decided to accept A.H.’s request.

“The appeals committee recognizes Jane Doe as a victim of terror due to the sexual assault and gang rape which were performed on her by a group of men who were residents of one of the towns of the [Wadi Ara] Triangle,” the committee wrote in its decision.