An Israeli young woman rescued from Jericho on Friday night gave a statement to the police describing the circumstances of the incident. She said that before meeting the suspect, they had been communicating and exchanging messages for “a certain period of time.”
“At first I didn’t want to meet, but eventually I agreed, and he sent me a location. I initially thought he was Jewish; only later did I discover he was Palestinian,” she said.
She told police that upon arriving at the destination, she was sexually assaulted. “Several people jumped on me, and one of them threatened me with a gun,” she said. She was then driven to an apartment in Jericho, where she was held.
Later, she managed to briefly escape to another room in the apartment and contact a friend and the police. “After they attacked me, I managed to run into another room and call my friend and the police,” she recounted.
She added that additional Palestinian Arabs arrived at the apartment before the rescue operation was carried out.
Police officials stated that the incident is currently being investigated as a criminal matter, though the possibility of a nationalist motive has not been ruled out. The commander of the Judea and Samaria District, Commissioner Moshe Pinchi, has assigned the ongoing investigation to the district’s central unit.
Security officials added that early in the investigation there was suspicion the young woman had been taken into Area A against her will. Around 6:00 p.m., a call was received from her reporting an assault.
A location trace on her mobile phone showed she had entered the area earlier that day, enabling the Palestinian Authority police to locate the apartment where she was being held.
The young woman, an immigrant to Israel who does not speak fluent Hebrew, was taken for a medical examination after her rescue. Police are also examining the possibility that she fell victim to exploitation due to language difficulties and unfamiliarity with her surroundings.