'I hope hit-and-run suspects stand trial in Israel'
French ambassador visits Lee Zeitouni’s bereaved relatives on Kibbutz Neveh Ur, confirms close cooperation between French and Israeli law enforcement.
By YAAKOV LAPPINHit-and-run victim Lee Zeitouni 311(photo credit: Courtesy: Facebook)
French Ambassador Christophe Bigot expressed hope on Wednesday that two French citizens who fled the country after their jeep struck and killed 25-year-old Lee Zeitouni in Tel Aviv last week will stand trial in Israel.Bigot spoke while visiting Zeitouni’s bereaved relatives on Kibbutz Neveh Ur, in the Beit She’an Valley.RELATED:Int'l arrest warrant issued for French hit-and-run suspect “I very much hope they will be extradited to Israel and tried in Israel,” Bigot said, according to Israel Radio.Bigot confirmed comments made by the Justice Ministry in recent days, saying that there was close cooperation between French and Israeli law enforcement, and that both countries were committed to bringing the fugitives, Claude Issac and Eric Rubic, to justice.
Speaking to Channel 10 News from France on Sunday night, Issac, who is suspected of being behind the wheel when the jeep struck Zeitouni, said, “We want to be in Israel, to go to the family and explain how much it hurts us too. But what can we do today? We killed a Jewish woman who was 25. For us this is the end of the world.Our life is over. But we don’t know what we can do.“We didn’t see her at all. If I would have seen her, I would have pressed on the brakes. But I saw her only when she was hit,” Issac said.
