Two serious sexual assaults have taken place in Tel Aviv in the space of 72 hours. The suspect in the first case is a 21 year old Arab from the Palestinian Authority staying in Israel illegally. The suspects in the second case are six Africans from Eritrea and Sudan, also in Israel illegally. Both incidents occurred in parking lots.

The first assault took place at around 3:30 a.m. at the Gan Ha’ir mall in north-central Tel Aviv, in the underground parking lot. The victims were two youths, a young man and a young woman. The attacker reportedly threatened them with a knife.

The second assault took place at about 4:00 a.m. on HaSharon Street in southern Tel Aviv, in a street level parking lot. A police patrol car spotted six immigrant workers from Africa surrounding a 19-year-old woman who appeared to be fighting them.

The police caught and subdued four of the suspects but two of them got away. According to an initial inquiry, they had attacked the woman, robbed her and then assaulted her. She was taken to Beilinson Hospital for treatment.