A man living in the Arab town of Jisr az-Zarqa was arrested by police on Monday after he released a video in which he placed a knife near his one-year-old daughter and said he is going to kill her because he cannot support his family anymore due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Channel 12 reported on Tuesday.
The man was placed in custody until Thursday by the court, after he phoned police himself on Monday asking to be arrested and taken to prison.
“I will murder one of the sons or the daughter,” he says to the camera in the video, “I want to go to prison... the coronvirus has ruined our lives, plus they closed the mosques – why?”
In Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, prayers in synagogues and mosques have been halted to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As families are facing greater financial concerns than before and are denied the usual outlets of work, school and recreation, pressures mount up and family abuse is increasing, several NGOs reported.