Tel Aviv District Police's Central Unit (Yamar) has arrested a suspect over the arson attack on a Japonica restaurant branch in Givatayim, a chain owned by Beitar Jerusalem's controlling owner, Barak Abramov, ONE reports.
The suspect, a man in his 20s from Rehovot, was taken into custody and transferred for questioning. Police are due to bring him before the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court to request an extension of his remand.
The fire at the Givatayim branch broke out in the early hours of July 12. It is one of a string of attacks that have hit Japonica outlets across the country in recent weeks, with other branches targeted by explosive devices, pepper-spray grenades and gunfire, according to Israeli media reports.
Abramov bought the Japonica chain in 2015 and has separately owned Beitar Jerusalem, one of Israeli football's most prominent and fan-driven clubs, since 2022, when he took over the club along with its debts.
Ynet reported that the wave of attacks has been linked by police sources to a feud between rival crime organisations, with one faction allegedly targeting Abramov's business after concluding he had grown closer to a rival family. Abramov himself is not a suspect in any wrongdoing.
The unrest has had commercial fallout too: a planned stock exchange listing for Japonica has reportedly been postponed as a result of the ongoing attacks.
The Givatayim arrest marks the first announced breakthrough in the investigation into the chain's targeting, though police have not said whether they believe the case is connected to organised crime or is being treated as an isolated act.
