Police on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old suspect in the assault of Rabbi Netanel Avitan last week on Yefet Street in Jaffa.
Officers from the Ayalon District’s anti-crime unit and Tel Aviv’s riot police detained the suspect, a Jaffa resident, and seized a handgun and ammunition found in his possession. The suspect was taken in for questioning. Police said all possible motives are being examined, including a suspected nationalist background.
Avitan, who teaches at a religious Zionist yeshiva in Jaffa, said he was attacked in the evening hours by a young man who shouted “Allahu Akbar” before assaulting him. Paramedics evacuated Avitan to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv with light injuries. The yeshiva later said he was hospitalized with injuries to his face and back.
Police said an investigation and search for the suspect were launched immediately after the attack was reported. Investigators used technological tools and operational measures that led officers from the Jaffa police station and the Ayalon District unit to identify the suspect.
The suspect was arrested at his home. During a search of the premises, police recovered a handgun and ammunition that were being held illegally, authorities said.