Police have arrested another suspect in the investigation into a wave of grenade and gun attacks on branches of the Japanika restaurant chain owned by Beitar Jerusalem's controlling owner, Barak Abramov, ONE reports.
The suspect, a man in his 20s from Bat Yam, was detained by the Central Unit of the Tel Aviv Police District and transferred for questioning at the district's headquarters, according to the report. He is suspected of throwing a stun grenade at the Japanika branch in Kiryat Ono in the early hours of July 13.
Police told ONE he is due before the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, where detectives will ask for his remand to be extended while the investigation continues. Officers said the probe is ongoing and that "all investigative directions are being examined." As is standard practice before any indictment, his name has not been released.
The Kiryat Ono incident is one of more than a dozen attacks reported against Japanika branches across the country since early July, according to Israeli media, with grenades thrown at outlets in Ramat Gan, Afula, Netanya, Givatayim and Rosh Pina and gunfire directed at the chain's Herzliya branch. Several suspects, including an alleged crime organisation leader, have already been arrested over the wider wave.
Japanika is the restaurant chain built and controlled by Abramov, who consolidated it and other ventures into his Andorra Investments Group before completing his takeover of Beitar Jerusalem in August 2022, buying the club after previously owning second-tier side Bnei Yehuda.
Investigators believe the attacks stem from a feud between rival crime organisations rather than any dispute involving Abramov personally, and have described him as a victim of the campaign rather than a suspect.
Abramov has sought to reassure Beitar's fan base as the case has unfolded, telling Ynet that "we are confident that recent events will not affect the club, and that nothing will spill over into Beitar's path in the league and in Europe."
With further arrests already made and the court process for this latest suspect still ahead, police say the investigation into who ordered and carried out the attacks remains active.
