Police detained three new suspects. linked with the killing of Yemanu Binyamin Zalka, the pizzeria manager killed on the eve of Independence Day, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Notably, two of the suspects were minors, and one of the suspects turned himself in to the police after a manhunt in the Sharon area.
There are now 16 suspects tied to the case. The police claimed to have known their identities and were sure of their participation in Zalka’s murder.
The police also said that the hunt for additional suspects who participated in the incident was still underway, and added: “The Israel Police shares the family’s grief and will continue to act resolutely to establish the evidentiary infrastructure and bring all those involved to justice.”
The latest suspects will be taken for questioning, and later, the police are expected to bring them for a hearing on a request to extend their detention in accordance with the needs of the investigation.
What happened in Zalka’s murder?
Zalka was killed on the eve of Independence Day after confronting a group of teenagers who were causing a disturbance in the pizzeria where he was working.
According to witnesses, the group waited for him to leave work, attacked him, and one of the suspects eventually stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital and was declared dead after doctors fought to save him for days.
“A lot of people loved him. A very good boy who never bothered his parents, us, or me, his older brother. Really, a really good boy,” said Zalka’s older brother during a statement outside the pizzeria where he used to work.
“My brother didn’t cause trouble either at home or outside. You have no idea how much my brother knows how to come help at home, for his mother, in the most everyday ways, getting the little ones out of kindergarten, out of school,” he added.
“And what has he done? He chose differently, told himself I will go to work on Independence Day, went to work, and didn’t come home.”
