Hotel boss tells of Ali G's brush with death

Comic Ali G had a brush with death after a bullet whistled through his hotel suite as two men shot themselves in a double suicide pact in the next room.

The spoof rapper, real name Sacha Baron Cohen, was asleep when the shot was fired at 5am and apparently did not hear a thing.

Zeev Keren, the manager of the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, said: “He was laughing about it before he heard it was a suicide. He thought someone had shot at the room. He was very easy about it.

“At 5am he heard some arguing between his neighbours next door but did not pay much attention and went back to sleep.”

Cohen and his partner, Isla Fisher, slept through the shooting but when they got up at midday they noticed a “spider web” crack in the window.

The bullet from the powerful M-16 machine gun had passed through the concrete wall of the room next door and exited through Ali G’s hotel room window.

The comedian thought someone had shot at the room from outside – and called the front desk at the hotel.

Mr Keren added: “His wife noticed the window. She was very scared. It looked like the bullet had come from outside.”

Management investigated and called in police, who found the hole in the wall.

Cohen, 31, and former Home and Away TV star Ms Fisher, 26, who are on holiday in Israel, were taken to another room.

They were told later about the suicide next door and gave statements.

In the neighbouring room, police had found the bodies of two dead men and the M-16 machine gun.

The men were Arik Gavrielov, 24, and his cousin, an 18-year-old soldier, whose name has not yet been confirmed.

The two had checked into the hotel on Sunday, said hotel spokeswoman Varda Chassel.

During the night, they ordered what Chassel called “a great deal of food and alcohol“, including a bottle of wine, eight beers, and cognac.

Police found a letter apologising for the damage caused by the suicides and, beside it, £90 to cover its cost.

In the “touching letter”, the two also apologised to the hotel for “ruining the holiday”, Chassel said.

It was also discovered that the younger man had left a message on his mobile phone’s voice mail, apparently intended for his girlfriend, apologising to her, his family, and even wishing everyone a happy new year.

They also requested their family’s support for their actions, but left little information regarding their motive, reports the Jerusalem Post.

According to police sources, each was killed by a single bullet.

Cohen starred in his own hit British show Da Ali G Show and has recently released a feature film, Ali G In Da House.

He and Fisher are to marry this summer after she has learned about the Jewish faith and converted to Judaism.

Cohen spent a year on a kibbutz in Israel in 1990. He was not immediately available for comment.

He is due back at the hotel on Saturday after travelling in Israel, according to hotel management.