Jerusalem Post / Israel News / Crime in Israel The 15 and 17-year-olds became new suspects tied to the case, with the police claiming to have known their identities and the fact that they participated in the attack against Zalka. Yemanu Binyamin Zalka, 21, was stabbed in Petah Tikva on Independence Day and later succumbed to his wounds. (photo credit: Courtesy) By HODAYA RAN MAY 2, 2026 12:13 Police detained two new suspects on Saturday, linked with the assassination of Yemanu Binyamin Zalka, the pizzeria manager killed on the eve of Independence Day, with one of the suspects turning himself in after a manhunt in the Sharon area, while the other had to be apprehended by the police.
The 15 and 17-year-olds became the 13th and 14th suspects tied to the case, with the police claiming to have known their identities and the fact that they participated in the lynching where Zalka was killed.
The police also said that the hunt for additional minors who participated in the incident was still underway, and added: “The Israel Police shares the family’s grief and will continue to act resolutely to establish the evidentiary infrastructure and bring all those involved to justice.”
The statement also emphasized that the investigation is being conducted at full strength, using all available means and capabilities, with the aim of identifying all those involved and bringing to justice everyone who took part in the incident.
A mural in memory of Pizza Hut employee Yemanu Binyamin Zalka is seen in Ashdod, after he was stabbed and later died of his wounds on the eve of Independence Day, April 28, 2026. (credit: Liron Moldovan/Flash90) These last two suspects will be taken for questioning, and later, the police are expected to bring them for a hearing on a request to extend their detention in accordance with the needs of the investigation.
The murder that shook the country Zalka was killed on the eve of Independence Day after confronting a group of teenagers who were causing a disturbance in the pizzeria where he was working.
According to witnesses, the group waited for him to leave work, attacked him, and one of the members eventually stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital and was declared dead after days of doctors fighting for his life.
“A lot of people loved him. A very good boy, who never bothered his parents, us, or me as his older brother. Really, a really good boy,” said Zalka’s older brother during a statement outside the pizzeria where he used to work.
“My brother didn’t cause trouble either at home or outside. You have no idea how much my brother knows how to come help at home, for his mother, in the most everyday ways, getting the little ones out of kindergarten, out of school,” he added.
“And what has he done? He chose differently, told himself I will go to work on Independence Day, went to work, and didn’t come home. Crazy, not caught at all. But with all that, the number of people who come, Menachem, really from all over the country.”