Woman killed in suspected West Bank robbery

Police announced a gag-order on the investigation of the suspected murder at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

By ELIYAHU KAMISHER
Updated: OCTOBER 24, 2016 23:11
Woman killed in suspected West Bank robbery (photo credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)
Woman killed in suspected West Bank robbery
(photo credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)
Early Sunday morning police found the body of an Israeli woman, Howaida Shawa, 45, in a car on Route 505 in the West Bank. She was apparently beaten to death.
Shawa, a resident of Jaffa, was found with evidence of violent bodily injuries along with her husband who was moderately injured. A suspect has been detained in connection with the alleged murder.
The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court extended the suspect’s remand for four days on Sunday after rejecting a police request for a 10-day remand.
According to police an initial investigation points to criminal motivations, in what appears to be a car robbery. “An Israeli vehicle was attacked on Route 505 near Barkan [25 km. east of Tel Aviv]. Police arrived on the scene and saw a couple in their 40s, a lightly injured man and one woman. CPR operations [were preformed] at the end of which was determined the woman’s death,” police said in a statement on Sunday.
Magen David Adom medic Nissim Vanino told Channel 10 News that the female victim was found unconscious with no pulse and signs of violence to her upper body.
According to the Channel 10 report the husband said the couple was robbed while visiting a Palestinian village near the settlement of Yakir.
Muhammad, the brother of Howaida Shawa, said that the victim had a good relationship with her husband. “We need to crack the truth. We can not sleep and we can not think. We want to know the truth,” he told Ynet.
Police announced a gag-order on the investigation of the suspected murder at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday; however, the gag-order provided by police shows that it was not requested until 8:57 a.m.