Scared girl (illustrative)
Scared girl (illustrative)iStock

Attorney Yehuda Fried, who is representing the seven-year-old haredi girl allegedly raped by a Palestinian Authority Arab, on Sunday night said that the therapies she was receiving are no longer being funded by the Welfare Ministry, due to "concerns of issues in the interrogation."

In an interview with News 12, Fried said: "Even before this story happened, the family was of meager means and on the verge of having no food. This is a family with seven children, where the mother is a housewife and the father is a yeshiva student."

"I can tell you that good people have turned to me, from Israel and abroad, and gifts and toys for the girl were placed by the family's doorstep, someone offered to pay for her summer camp, but obviously they need financial help.

"Even before this incident, the family was being helped by the community, and receiving as much help as possible - but today the problem is double. The father is absent from his work, and now they have suffered another blow due to the fact that the Welfare Ministry has ceased funding the therapies."

Kikar Hashabbat quoted the response from the local authority where the family lives: "The girl's treatment is in accordance with the instructions of police and the legal bodies responsible for crime victims. The girl's treatment continues according to her needs. The therapy sessions have continued as usual."

Since 46-year-old Mahmoud Katusa's indictment was canceled, investigators have continued working to gather evidence in the case.

In announcing the cancellation of Katusa's indictment, the chief army prosecutor added that Katusa remained the prime suspect.