Tel Aviv: 2 arrested for attacking foreigners

Youths who claimed were attacked while aiding woman being molested by foreign national were themselves aggressors, attacking, stealing from foreign nationals, police suspect

Eli Senyor|Published: 06.12.13 , 14:44

Two youths from Tel Aviv's southern neighborhoods were arrested on suspicion of perpetrating a string of hate motivated crimes and robberies targeting foreign nationals Tuesday.

Only last Saturday, the two young men, Levy Melayev and Itamar Cohen, were at the police station lodging a complaint against a group of foreigners which they claimed attacked them and "took bricks and bashed them on (our) heads," while they were attempting to assist a young woman.

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During the police investigation of their claims it turned out that the two frequently roamed southern Tel Aviv, picking on foreigners and at times even beat them and robbed them of their phones or other items.

Tuesday saw the arrest of the 22 and 24-year-old after a search of their home revealed clubs and brass knuckles which, according to police suspicions, were used in the attacks.

"ניסינו להתגונן". אחד המותקפים (צילום: לוי מלייב)

Cohen's head after orginial incident (Photo: Levy Melayev)

Police are currently continuing their investigation, and the possibility the two were involved in four additional attacks is being examined. The police have brought the two for extension of remand Wednesday before a Tel Aviv Magistrate Court.

According to the police, all of the cases share a certain common core and police suspect that the two were more interested in humiliating the foreigners and causing them fear than actually robbing them.

In the incident in question, the two sustained head injuries after they allegedly saved a local woman from the hands of a group of violent foreign nationals bothering her.

At the time, the two were presented as casually passing by and coming to the girl's rescue only to be brutally attacked by foreign nationals.