http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4527281,00.html
Police probe twin racist attacks on Africans in Israel
Gang attacks migrant in Bnei Brak; Ethiopian youth under arrest for
assault on Eritrean nationals in Netanya.
Gilad Morag
Published: 06.05.14, 18:40 / Israel News
A group of teenage boys age 14 to 16 and a 20-year-old man are
suspected of robbing migrant workers in the Bnei Brak area. Police are
also investigating whether the gang threw rocks at the workers out of
xenophobia.
In a separate incident, young Israelis of Ethiopian origin attacked
and robbed two Eritrean citizens at a Netanya beach.
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Six youths and one 20-year-old were arrested Wednesday evening for
allegedly robbing a migrant worker. According to the allegations, the
migrant was waiting at a bus station in Bnei Brak when the gang
approached him, assaulted him, robbed him, and then ran away from the
scene of the crime.
Police officers from the youth department searched the area and
quickly arrested seven suspects for participating in the event. Police
suspect that the gang was involved in similar cases of assaults on
migrants, based on their modus operandi.
The 20-year-old suspect, with a large and imposing frame, would
suddenly assault the victim while the rest of the gang would search
his pockets and steal his cash. Afterwards, the suspects would meet up
at a hiding spot to divide the bounty.
The teenage boys admitted to the charges brought against them during
their investigation, explaining that migrant workers usually carried
cash and could not identity who robbed them. Police are investigating
similar incidents in Bnei Brak in which rocks were thrown on Sudanese
workers; some of the suspects in the robbery also admitted to rock
throwing.
Netanya attack
In the Netanya case, where Israeli youths of Ethiopian origin were
suspected of attacking two Eritrean citizens, one 19-year-old male was
arrested. During the investigation he claimed that the attack happened
"as revenge for what the Eritreans did to the Jewish Ethiopians on
their way to Israel."
While the two Eritreans were relaxing on the beach, they were
approached by a gang of youths who attacked them, robbed them, and
took their necklaces and wallet.
The police was called to the site and they located one suspect,
Natan'el Avohi, 19, from Netanya.
The two victims identified the suspect at a police post at the beach
and he was taken in for investigation. At first the suspect claimed
the assault was a result of his wish to take revenge on Eritreans, but
he later denied all allegations and claimed he was never at the scene.
The suspect's lawyer said his client denied all wrongdoing, said the
stolen items were not in his client's possession, and asked for his
release.
The judge on the case determined in her decision that "the suspect
tied himself to the incident and admitted at first to a racial motive
for the crime - and that is the danger emanating from the suspect."
The judge extended Avohi's arrest by four days.
Police are continuing their investigation and attempting to locate
others involved in the assault.
Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report.
Received on Thu Jun 05 2014 - 20:02:06 EDT