A 20-year-old woman from the town of Azor spoke publicly for the first time after allegedly being attacked on June 18 by Ali Shahin, 36, an illegal resident from Dahariya near Hebron. According to an indictment filed Wednesday in Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, Shahin is charged with indecent assault by force and illegal entry into Israel. The prosecution says he followed her on a street in Azor, grabbed her from behind, pressed himself against her and tried to kiss her forcibly for sexual gratification or humiliation.
The attack, captured on security cameras, was first reported by Walla and led to Shahin’s arrest within hours. Police say the footage helped investigators identify him. Later that same day, after a joint operation by police districts in Tel Aviv, the South and Judea and Samaria, with assistance from the IDF, he was arrested at his home in Dahariya. After several remand extensions, the indictment was filed on Wednesday.
The woman said she was on her way to national service and walking a route she uses every day while on her phone when the man began following her. “He walked quietly until he lunged at me,” she said. “He held me so I could not move. I turned around, he pressed his head against me, touched my face, held my hands tightly so I would not move, and tried to kiss me.” She said she did not know who he was until after the arrest.
She said her screams drew help from neighbors and municipal workers, who called police and helped secure the camera footage. She also responded to criticism from people who said she should have turned around. “What would have happened if I had turned around? He was determined,” she said. Since then, she said, she does not go out alone, is afraid to walk in the street, and hopes he will be punished and that she will eventually feel safe again.
