Police: TA murder nationalistic
French immigrant confesses to killing Arab cab driver after inviting him for coffee at his Tel Aviv apartment
A French immigrant confessed on Monday to the murder of an Arab taxi driver in an apparent hate crime, police said.
The immigrant and his brother invited the taxi driver to their Tel Aviv apartment on Yona Hanavi Street "for coffee" after he had driven them from Jerusalem.
Police said the throat of 35-year-old Taisir Karaki of Beit Hanina had been slit and his body bore the signs of a violent attack.
The suspects following his arrest
Police became aware of the murder after the arrest of the two brothers on Allenby Street for acting suspiciously. The two brothers, who hold dual French-Israeli nationality, were spotted wandering in the center of the street.
The older brother, 25, told the police during random questioning that he had murdered a taxi driver in his apartment and led police to the scene of the crime.
Police will ask the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Tuesday to extend the brother's remand. The role of the younger brother, 21, in the murder remains unclear.
"All leads are being investigated, but the main lead is nationalistic. From an initial probe it seems the driver drove them to their home and then they invited him to their flat where the older brother killed him," a police officer said.
