Police accuse Lod man of murdering his sister, burying body in forest

Police on Tuesday accused a man from the central city of Lod of murdering his sister, whose body was discovered in April weeks after she went missing.

According to the police investigation, the family of Najla al-Amouri, 19, was angry with her over her lifestyle and because she spent what they considered to be too much time away from home.

On April 11, Mohammed al-Amouri, 30, arrived at his mother’s home where his sister was and choked her to death with his hands, police said.

He then allegedly put her body in an open area near the town of Shoham, returning a day later to retrieve the body and bury it in a forested area the town of Tel Hadid in central Israel.

Al-Amouri’s remains were found on April 24.

After police found her body, they arrested al-Amouri’s two brothers, sister, mother and sister. Besides her brother Mohammed, who is set to be indicted on Wednesday, the rest have been released from police custody.

According to the Haaretz daily, al-Amuri suffered violence and threats from family members in the past, and had spent time in a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

A few months prior to her murder, the young woman was summoned to the police station in Lod and was offered protection. Upon leaving the police station, two members of her family attempted to force her into a vehicle. They were arrested and convicted but were only jailed for a few months for the attack.

Shortly before her death she was offered the opportunity to return to the shelter by welfare authorities, but refused.

According to the Haaretz daily, six other women besides al-Amuri have been killed by people they know in 2019 so far.

Twenty-five women were killed in Israel in 2018 in suspected cases of domestic abuse or violence directed at females. Many of those women had told the police prior to their deaths that they were concerned for their safety.

In December 2018 thousands of women went on strike and tens of thousands rallied across the country to protest women killed by a partner, family member, or someone known to them, and what they say is the authorities’ failure to stem a sharp increase in violence against women.