Palestinian Hotel Worker Charged With Sexual Abuse of Minor Evacuated During War

Israel’s State Attorney has filed an indictment in Jerusalem District Court against a 25-year-old Palestinian man from Hebron, accusing him of serious offenses against a minor staying at a hotel where he worked in the Jerusalem area. Prosecutors also asked that he remain in custody until the end of the proceedings. According to the indictment, he worked at the hotel without a legal work permit and was in Israel illegally.

The girl had been evacuated with her family to the hotel because of the war dubbed "Operation Lion’s Roar" and stayed there for a period of time. While there, she became acquainted with another minor whose mother worked at the hotel and who knew the defendant through his job.

The indictment, filed by attorney Amir Drausha of the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office, says the suspect approached the two girls and offered to give them a tour of the hotel. During the tour, he allegedly committed repeated and severe acts against the victim. He later invited both girls to the roof of the hotel, where he continued, despite the child’s attempts to push him away and stop him.

Prosecutors say he stopped only after the victim called to her friend for help, and the two then left. He is charged with sexual offenses against a girl under 16 and with entering and remaining in Israel unlawfully. The investigation was conducted by the Harel Station in the Zion District, and a gag order remains in place on identifying details of the minor victim.