A Young Woman from Na'oura Charged with Blackmail and Threats Amounting to Half a Million Shekels

SadaNews - An indictment has been submitted to the court against a 25-year-old woman from the town of Na'oura in the Lower Galilee, northern Israel, after she claimed to belong to the "Hariri family" and attempted to blackmail her victims for large sums of money amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels, threatening their lives.

The details of the case date back to the beginning of January, when the police received a report about an extortion attempt through threats. The complainant stated that he received messages from different phone numbers, where the sender identified himself as being from the "Hariri family," demanding that he transfer large sums of money under threat.

According to the indictment, the messages began by demanding the victim transfer an amount of 20,000 shekels. After she refused to pay, the accused impersonated "Mohammad Hariri" and demanded this time 50,000 shekels, threatening to shoot at the victim's home and at her legs. When the victim informed her that she would go to the police, the demanded amount rose to 500,000 shekels.

On the same day, an additional message was received from another number, where the sender also claimed to be "Mohammad Hariri," demanding immediate payment and including instructions for delivering the money, along with serious threats stating: "If one mistake happens, I will blow up your entire family" and "If you bring someone with you, we will punish you immediately."

Fearing for her life, the victim enlisted the help of two acquaintances, who tried to call the numbers used in the extortion attempts. However, they received a message indicating that "Hariri" was behind the case and were asked to pay tens of thousands of shekels for "intervening" and ending the threat.

As the investigation progressed, the police used technological means and tools to track the source of the messages, which led to identifying the suspect and arresting her. The police reported that the accused is 25 years old and a resident of the village of Na'oura.

Yesterday, with the completion of the investigation procedures, an indictment was submitted against her to the Magistrate's Court in "Nova Galilee" - Nazareth, by attorney Basel Saeed, senior deputy in the Northern District Prosecutor's Office.