Israeli Police and IDF forces arrested a 36-year-old Palestinian resident of Dahariya, near Hebron, suspected of brutally assaulting a 20-year-old woman in the central town of Azor. The arrest followed a multi-district manhunt triggered by graphic security footage that circulated online. The suspect was apprehended at his home and transferred to Holon police station for questioning; police are expected to seek a remand extension.
Police and IDF forces arrested a 36-year-old Palestinian man from Dahariya in the Hebron area late Thursday night, following a rapid multi-district manhunt that began hours earlier when security footage of a brutal daylight assault on a 20-year-old woman in Azor went viral.
The footage, which sparked public outrage, showed the suspect following the woman before attacking her. The Tel Aviv, Southern, and Judea and Samaria police districts coordinated with IDF troops to locate the suspect at his home. He was taken into custody and transferred under guard to the Holon police station for questioning. Police are expected to request a remand extension at court.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Thursday (20:22 Jerusalem), police had initially arrested a separate Palestinian suspect in a related indecent assault on a teenage girl in Azor. That 34-year-old suspect was also from the territories and was arrested hours after the incident. The current arrest appears to be for a separate, more severe assault, though both occurred in Azor on the same day. The earlier report (version 1) cited the Azor local council announcing a suspect's arrest after a days-long manhunt; subsequent versions (2 and 3) identified the suspect as a 36-year-old West Bank resident. A separate bulletin published at 22:19 Jerusalem confirmed the 36-year-old's arrest and identified him as a Dahariya resident. The background items in The Zioneer archive include earlier reports of an assault in Tel Aviv and the arrest of a suspect in a different assault in Bnei Brak; none of those are directly linked to this case.
Details of the victim's condition and any connection between the two Azor incidents have not been released.
4 developments
- StrongPolice arrest West Bank Palestinian suspect in Holon daylight assault on woman
- StrongDaniel Amram: young woman sexually assaulted by stalker in broad daylight in Azor; suspect still at large
- DevelopingArmored man beats Palestinian in Hawara; military has not identified him a week later
- DevelopingPolice arrest suspect in assault of Haredi man in Bnei Brak
Source and signal
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