4 indicted for robbing, assaulting 82-year-old nun

Father and son, as well as two W. Bank brothers in Israel illegally, charged with binding, gagging Haifa woman in her home.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Justice gavel court law book judge 311 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Justice gavel court law book judge 311
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
The Haifa district attorney charged three men and a minor with robbing and assaulting an 82- year-old woman in the Haifa District Court on Wednesday.
The defendants are a 45-year-old Haifa resident, his minor son and two brothers, Jihad and Ziad Shehadeh. Jihad and Ziad are residents of the West Bank and were staying illegally in Israel, the indictment says.
The victim, an octogenarian nun living in Haifa, was attacked and robbed in her home in November.
According to the indictment, the attack happened after the minor went to case the victim’s house with his dog, while the other defendants waited outside the house.
Shortly afterward, the victim left her house to empty the trash, and left her gate and door unlocked. As she returned to the house, the defendants allegedly rushed forward, pushed open her door and grabbed her. Wearing masks, the defendants bound the 82-year-old and gagged her with duct tape, knocked her down, crushed her face and stepped on her chest, the indictment says.
To avoid more beatings, the victim played dead while the defendants searched her house and took NIS 4,000, according to the indictment. They then allegedly fled, leaving the elderly woman bound and alone.