New footage released on Wednesday shows the moment Yossi Musli, the head of a crime organization, was arrested at his home on Tuesday by detectives from the Tel Aviv District’s Major Crimes Unit.
The arrest was carried out as part of the investigation into the wave of grenade attacks, arson, and shootings that has hit central and northern Israel in recent days, with a series of attacks focused on branches of the Japanika restaurant chain and other targets.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court extended Musli’s detention by five days. Police suspect he was involved in the wave of attacks being investigated as part of the feud between the Musli and Jarushi crime families. Investigators also believe the probe will widen and that more arrests are likely in the coming days.
During the hearing, Judge Sheli Kotin said there was, for now, a basis that justified keeping Musli in custody.
“Reviewing the investigation materials establishes the suspicion of involvement. In addition, there is a ground for detention of dangerousness, as well as a ground of suspicion of obstruction. I found that there is room to grant the request in part," she wrote in her ruling.
At the same time, the judge sent a clear message to the investigative unit regarding the case's continuation.
“The material presented to me is, from an evidentiary standpoint, sufficient for this stage of the investigation and only for the current hearing on the first detention extension,” she wrote. Rotin added that if police do not obtain concrete evidence and do not carry out investigative steps that strengthen the suspicions against Musli, “I do not think there will be room to extend his detention again.”
Musli claims police met with him prior to grenade attacks
During the hearing, Musli chose to address the suspicions against him himself. According to him, several days before his arrest, three detectives from the Tel Aviv Major Crimes Unit came to his home and took him for a conversation at the unit’s offices. He claimed he was told that police had information that he was “organizing with grenades.”
“Several days before they came to me yesterday, officers from Tel Aviv’s Major Crimes Unit had already visited me,” Musli told the court.
“They took me to the Major Crimes Unit offices for a conversation and warned me: ‘Listen, we have information that you are organizing with grenades.’ I didn’t even understand what they wanted.
"They told me: ‘Take four days and calm the area; if not, we will act against you with aggressive measures.’ I asked what aggressive measures meant, and they said they would issue administrative orders against me. I told them, with respect, 'Thank you. Maybe disconnect my phone.' I have nothing to do with anything.”
Musli’s lawyer, Doron Noy, attacked the police conduct and argued that if investigators really had prior information about an intention to throw grenades, they should have taken operational steps at that stage.
“If the Major Crimes Unit had this information about grenades, why didn’t they do something operational?" he asked.
"They were at his house; they saw he was there. They saw and know he is not the one throwing the grenades; physically, that is clear. So if they don’t have sufficient evidence linking him- no recording, no visual documentation, no strong testimony or anything else- why arrest him?
"This is all due to public pressure and the attention this affair has drawn. The police want to show, apparently, that they are doing something, even though they have nothing and nothing at all.”
Later in the hearing, Noy added that even while Musli was in custody, additional incidents took place in northern Israel.
“You tell the court that the suspect does not need to carry out the actions physically, but he is allegedly behind them, and tonight, while he was under arrest, two more incidents took place in Haifa and Rosh Pina. So how do you explain a ground for obstruction or dangerousness?
"It happened even when he was under arrest. He told you he is not involved in any feud, and you are not telling him ‘there is this or that against you,’ but asking where he was every night incidents happened, and he explains that he was at home. You can disprove or confirm his claim, because you have the DVR from the cameras at his house, so what is all the noise?”
According to the suspicion, the wave of attacks is connected to an escalation in the feud between the Musli and Jarushi crime families. In recent days, about nine Japanika branches, along with other targets, were hit by grenade attacks, shootings, and arson.
Japanika owner was close to crime family
As part of the investigation, police recently took a statement from Japanika chain owner Barak Abramov. During his testimony, he told investigators that he has no feud with anyone, has no enemies, and does not understand what is behind the series of attacks on his businesses. He also clarified that in his assessment, this was not an attempt to harm him personally.
According to people familiar with the details, Abramov was once considered close to the Musli brothers, and at that time they also helped him, those sources said, on his way to control of the Bnei Yehuda soccer team. In recent years, however, the situation has changed, and he is now identified with figures in the Jarushi family. Police are examining whether that shift lies behind the attacks on the chain’s branches.
It was also learned that in recent months Abramov made a major business move, selling 20% of the Landora group to Leumi Partners for about NIS 200 million, while also working to advance an initial public offering of the Japanika chain on the stock exchange. According to sources familiar with the details, the wave of attacks has delayed that move for now.
Police are continuing their investigation and are preparing to summon additional members of the Musli family for questioning in the coming days. Investigators believe Musli’s arrest is only the first stage of a broader investigation, which is expected to continue in the coming days.