A Jewish Israeli woman who claimed to have been raped by two Palestinian men has admitted to lying about the allegations.
The 22-year-old woman, who is mentally challenged, had originally said that that the men raped her in Tel Aviv on Yom Ha’atzmaut, while cursing and urinating on her.
However, she has now retracted her allegations, saying that she was in a consensual relationship with one of the accused men – a minor – and that her parents made the claims in order to bring their relationship to an end.
The story has caused controversy in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighing in on Facebook the day after the men were arrested. “This was a horrific crime that requires wall-to-wall condemnation, but such condemnation hasn’t been heard,” he wrote. "One can only imagine what would have happened if the situation were reversed.”
However, the following morning he retracted his statement, in another post on the social media site, saying that “the incident as reported caused me deep shock and pain – however, it wasn’t right for me to address the topic until the investigation was complete.”
The two men were arrested last Wednesday and the woman decided to change her story after a court hearing on Monday.
