Mitzpe Ramon woman stable after weekend stabbing attack
Victim said to describe assault, allegedly by husband, to investigators after waking up following emergency surgery
A woman who was stabbed several times Friday night in a suspected domestic abuse incident regained consciousness and was in stable condition, according to a report late Sunday.
The woman, 31, underwent emergency surgery at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center Friday night after being allegedly stabbed by her husband at their home in Mitzpe Ramon.
On Sunday, she was taken off a ventilator and reportedly described the attack to investigators.
According to the Ynet news site, the woman thanked her neighbors for intervening and saving her life, and described to her family and police investigators the way her husband allegedly stabbed her, asking, “Why did he do this to me?”
Police had arrived at the scene after neighbors reported hearing screams and found the woman wounded on the floor of the couple’s house.
The woman’s husband, a 45-year-old electrical engineer working in the defense industry, was arrested, according to reports.
The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court has extended his remand until Friday.
A witness told Channel 12 news that he ran to the couple’s home after hearing the screams and saw the husband covered in blood still holding the knife.
“I pleaded with him. I said ‘please don’t kill her, please don’t kill her,’” the witness said.
Police said they had a file on the couple after a previous incident of domestic violence in 2019. The woman’s brother said she had filed a complaint that she later withdrew after their respective families intervened and got them to reconcile.
“In retrospect, this was a huge mistake,” he said.
Police and social service organizations have reported a major rise in domestic violence complaints since the start of the coronavirus crisis, as many families have stayed at home for extended periods of time combined with high levels of stress.
On June 1, thousands of Israelis gathered at a demonstration in Tel Aviv to demand government action to end violence against women. It was the second such protest in less than a month.
The rally came as the Welfare and Social Services Ministry published figures that showed a 112 percent increase in the number of complaints about domestic violence it received to its hotline in May compared to April.
In May, the Knesset approved the formation of a subcommittee to combat domestic violence against women, sitting under the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of Women. Feminist groups expressed outrage after MK Oded Forer, the only man on the committee, was chosen as its new chair.
