Turkish police suspect Israeli woman murdered by father, brother
Siwar Keblawi’s death portrayed as suicide after leap from balcony, but authorities believe she jumped to escape them, survived, and was then killed by pair
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A 20-year-old Israeli student died in the Turkish city of Izmit on Wednesday, in what local police suspect was a murder carried out by her father and brother, according to Turkish media reports.
Siwar Keblawi had fallen from a third-floor balcony and her death was portrayed by her relatives as a suicide.
But after taking neighbors’ testimonies and examining evidence, police now believe she jumped from the balcony in an attempt to escape from them, and was strangled shortly thereafter, according to media reports.
Keblawi and her family are from the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. She and her father had reportedly been living in an apartment in Izmit for the past few months, and she had enrolled as a student at a local university.
Keblawi’s brother arrived in Izmit from Israel earlier this week. For reasons unknown, Keblawi and her brother are believed to have gotten into a fight on Wednesday evening, at which point she locked herself in a room with a balcony. Her brother then allegedly broke the door down, and Keblawi is thought to have jumped out of the balcony to escape. She was badly hurt in the fall, but alive.
However, according to Turkish media the brother and the father are then suspected of carrying her back into the home, where one or both of them strangled her and killed her.
Footage aired by Turkish media Thursday showed the two carry the young woman out of the yard — at a point when police believe she was still alive.
תיעוד שפורסם בכלי תקשורת טורקיים: הישראלית שנהרגה באיזמיט מובלת על ידי שני גברים אל מחוץ לזירה pic.twitter.com/3DEMHATFFi
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) February 7, 2019
Both the father and brother have been arrested. One arrest was also documented and broadcast by Turkish press.
תיעוד שפורסם בכלי התקשורת הטורקיים: אחיה של הישראלית שנהרגה באיזמיט נעצר על ידי המשטרה המקומית pic.twitter.com/VyHtU5CL5Z
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) February 7, 2019
The Foreign Ministry in Israel was working with Turkish authorities to bring the woman’s body back to the country.
The Times of Israel Community.