Brother of alleged rapist of 7-year-old girl says accusations ‘all lies’

“Six Jews and six Arabs testified in my brother’s favor,” he said, “the girl saw one Arab worker and pointed him out.”

By YASSER OKBI/MAARIV
Crime scene [illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Crime scene [illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
The brother of the accused Palestinian who allegedly raped a seven-year-old Jewish girl in a West Bank Settlement argued that his brother is not guilty in an interview with Maariv.
“It is unthinkable that a man who worked at a [Jewish] settlement for eight years and managed 80 workers, a father and grandfather, could do such a sick thing,” he said.
“The child saw one Arab worker in her entire school and pointed him out as the guilty party,” he said.
Darwish Nashaf, who is the lawyer representing the accused man, said his client was working for Jewish people on the day of the crime. He further asked how it is possible for his client to commit a rape of a child with people present. Furthermore, “This man worked for eight years, [in the town] entered houses and worked with children, how come he did not rape [anyone] before?”
Palestinians had issues with how Israeli politicians were quick to make “cynical usage of this serious crime, as if this man is a resistance activist.”
A Ramallah-based Palestinian reporter told Maariv that “such things, if true, damage Palestinian society, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can’t legitimize such a terrible and horrible crime.”
The man argued that the case must be framed as a criminal case and “not to smear the whole Palestinian nation as if we lack moral. No Palestinian would agree that [it is fine] to rape a child in such a barbaric way.”
This is not the first time Palestinians argued that not all acts of violence against Jewish people in Israel can be justified due to the conflict.
In April, 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher was raped and murdered by Hebron resident Arafat Irfaiya.
While he claimed the acts were inspired by nationalistic ideology, the court accused him of criminal intent.
Both Hamas and Fatah warned Israeli authorities that should Irfaiya be placed with their inmates in an Israeli prison, he would be killed, as they are unwilling to have their national struggle sullied with such sexual crimes.