Cops make wave of arrests following deadly Petah Tikva car bombing

Police: Suspects have not linked themselves to explosions; target allegedly associate of crime figure killed last month.

By BEN HARTMAN
Car explosion at Yarkonim Junction 370 (photo credit: Courtesy MDA)
Car explosion at Yarkonim Junction 370
(photo credit: Courtesy MDA)
Investigators from the police’s Central District carried out a wave of arrests over the weekend following a car bomb outside Petah Tikva Thursday night that left two men dead.
Police said that none of the suspects have linked themselves to the bombing, which turned the four-door car into a mangled and scorched shell at the Yarkonim junction after it came to a stop on Highway 5. They added that the arrests, by the district’s central investigative unit, were mainly meant to deter and shake up criminal figures who may be involved or know about the bombing, and that they do not expect to bring them before a magistrate anytime soon.
The injuries to the victims were so severe that Dekel Tzafar, 35, and Sharon Farhi, 31, both from Rosh Ha’ayin, could only be identified on Friday, after results from DNA tests came back. Police said they believe that the bombing was meant to target only Tzafar, a man they say is “known to police.”
Tzafar was reportedly an associate of Eli Orkabi, a Petah Tikva crime figure who was killed almost a month ago in a mid-day drive-by shooting that left him and Eran Fartush, a 42- year-old building contractor, dead in a quiet Petah Tikva neighborhood.
Early on Friday morning, Central District police secured a sweeping gag order covering virtually all aspects of the case, which has been placed in the hands of the central investigative unit.