Last update - 00:00 03/03/2007
Petah Tikva woman, 20, in serious condition after rape attempt
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
A 20-year-old Petah Tikva woman was seriously hurt early Saturday morning from stab wounds suffered in a rape attempt in the city.
The woman's condition was initially described as critical, but later stabilized.
In the afternoon, investigators of the Petah Tikva police Special Investigations Unit received the woman's initial testimony.
The victim, a soldier on weekend leave, said that around 5:00 A.M. she got out of a friend's car after leaving a nightclub in Tel Aviv.
The head of the investigation, Sergeant Major Shmuel Bar said she told police she had left the car, located a short distance from her home, and began walking on foot.
On the way home, she passed an open area on Sapir Street, close to the city's industrial area.
"Suddenly she heard someone running behind her, and a stranger grabbed her from behind and tried to drag her to the side of the road," he said.
The woman resisted forcefully and began screaming. The perpetrator threw her on the ground and she began kicking him.
In her testimony, the woman said that although the man did not undress her, it was clear that he intended to rape her.
The perpetrator then produced a knife and stabbed her several times.
"Luckily, at the same time a police patrol passed the area. Apparently the blue lights startled him, and he fled," Bar said.
Police said they saw the woman run towards them, then collapse on the ground. At first they thought the woman collapsed had because she was intoxicated.
"When they reached her they saw that she was losing blood. She was able to tell them that someone had tried to rape her, then she lost consciousness," Bar said.
"Another patrol was called to the scene and transported the young woman in critical condition, after she had lost a large amount of blood. This morning she underwent an operation that improved her condition," he said.
Police said they are not aware of similar incidents having taken place recently in Petah Tikva.
The victim was able to provide police with an initial profile of the perpetrator: a man in his twenties, of a height of five feet and seven inches and wearing a black visor.