Woman in crisis tries to drown her children in the sea
Beachgoers in Haifa alert authorities to prevent murder-suicide
A young Arab woman from Nazareth, distraught over financial distress, apparently intended to drown her children and herself in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday night.
The woman was spotted carrying her children, ages 7 and 3, fully clothed some 50 meters into the water off a Haifa beach around 9:30 on Tuesday night. Security patrolmen waded out to the woman, who refused to communicate with them, and then pulled the family to the shore. Soon thereafter, they found in the woman’s car a note describing her financial difficulties and emotional stress.
Welfare authorities were called to take protective care of the family. The woman was likely to be questioned on Wednesday, after which police and welfare officials will determine what steps to take regarding the woman and her children.
The desperate act follows several acts and attempted acts of self-immolation carried out in the past week and a half in response to financial crises, and as part of ongoing social protests, that have shocked the country.