Police charge Israeli for strangling, assaulting wife for disturbing sleep

An Israeli resident of Lod in his 30s was indicted by the Israel Police prosecution on Monday for allegedly strangling his wife into an unconscious state and assaulting her for disturbing his sleep.

The Lod Police District station investigators initiated a probe several days ago upon receiving a report regarding a suspected severe assault of a woman by her husband in their Lod home.

The indictment asserts that the accused strangled his wife after she woke him from his sleep until he rendered her unconscious. He then reportedly attempted to revive her by splashing water on her face, only to continue his violent rampage, which included smashing various household items.

In the wake of this distress call, police promptly arrived at the scene. The suspect was detained for investigation, but not before he attempted to flee the apartment and impersonate another individual.

After his subsequent interrogation, the man was detained. His arrest was extended in the Court of Appeals, per the requirements of the investigation.

Police's Central District's prosecution unit has since submitted a severe indictment against the defendant. This action followed the conclusion of the investigation, and in line with its findings, the unit requested that the accused remained detained until the end of the proceedings.

Similar incidents of domestic violence in Lod

This incident follows a string of domestic violence cases across Israel, including February 2023, when a 53-year-old woman was fatally assaulted in Lod with dumbbells by her husband, Moshe Attias.

This horrific act occurred merely days after yet another femicide in Lod, when 33-year-old Lidar Swissa was murdered by her neighbor Yaakov Chaimovitz. Chaimovitz, who had previously issued multiple threats to Swissa, was ultimately responsible for her death, despite her lodged official complaints which unfortunately remained unhandled.

More disturbingly, these instances occurred a month before the rejection of a law proposal in March 2023 aimed at protecting women. The proposed legislation, turned down by coalition MKs, aimed to enforce electronic monitoring bracelets on domestic violence offenders to uphold restraining orders and ensure victims' safety.

As per previous Jerusalem Post reports, 24 women were killed by violent spouses or family members throughout 2022, reflecting a 50% increase from the previous year.

These sobering incidents and chilling statistics underline a severe increase in domestic violence in Israel, posing a great and immediate threat to women. This issue demands urgent attention and action.

MERAV COHEN/WALLA! and YUVAL BAGNO/MAARIV contributed to this report.