Israel says woman raped by British is war vet

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Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it would recognize a Jewish underground activist raped by her British captors 60 years ago as a disabled war veteran.

Israel Radio said the unnamed woman was 14 when she was caught by British forces in Tel Aviv distributing flyers for the LEHI militia, which fought British rule in Palestine until the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948.

It said the British beat her legs and interrogated her about hideouts, radio transmitters and arms dumps used by LEHI, known to the British as the Stern Gang after its founder, Avraham Stern.

The woman's daughter Navah told the radio that when her mother refused to give information, British officers raped her. She said her mother kept the incident a secret until blurting it out while watching a TV program on rape in 1993.

Haaretz