Israel Police arrested Musli crime family boss Yossi Musli on Tuesday night in connection with a series of attacks targeting the Japanika restaurant chain, according to Israeli media reports.
Police announced an arrest, but did not specify who was arrested. Later, they announced that three more people had been arrested in connection with the Japanika attacks: an 18-year-old man and two men in their 30s, all from central Israel.
Police responded to a shooting incident at a Japanika restaurant in Herzliya on Tuesday morning, which was the latest attack.
A fire had also broken out at a Japanika branch in Netanya after a stolen IDF grenade was thrown at the restaurant, Israel Police said in a statement earlier on Tuesday morning.
In the span of a few hours, police announced two grenade explosions, a pipe bomb attack, and an attempted arson. Three of the incidents targeted branches of the Japanika restaurant chain, owned by businessman and Beitar Jerusalem owner Barak Abramov.
None of the incidents had any reported casualties.
Dan District investigators are collecting security camera footage, forensic findings, and evidence from all the scenes, and are now checking whether the three attacks on Japanika branches were carried out by the same people. At the same time, the investigation into a grenade explosion at a residential building in Or Yehuda is continuing, and it is still unclear whether it is connected to the other incidents.
Who are the Musli crime family?
For years, brothers Yossi and Eli Musli have managed to stay ahead of police, who suspect them of involvement in a long series of murders and attempted murders targeting their rivals.
The criminal organization they lead began in southern Tel Aviv and developed into a powerful network that some have described as a global empire. It is estimated to be worth more than half a billion shekels.
Police suspect the organization of involvement in illegal gambling, extortion, high-interest black-market loans, operating casinos abroad and other criminal activities. They also suspect that another brother, Shay, runs a criminal organization in South Africa.
Police have tracked Yossi and Eli since they first came to their attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the time, the brothers operated vegetable stalls in the Hatikva neighborhood market and were suspected of involvement in violent robberies and territorial disputes.
The Musli brothers first rose to prominence after crime figure Itzik Abergil was extradited to the US to face prosecution on serious drug-trafficking charges. Using profits they allegedly accumulated through the Bank Leumi embezzlement affair and strategic alliances with leading crime bosses at the time, including Amir Molner, Eitan Hyia and Kutyer Odeh, the brothers built a powerful and wealthy criminal organization.
They were dubbed the “kings of gambling” and began expanding their operations abroad. Eli was placed in charge of the organization’s finances, while Yossi was considered the head of its operational wing.
Israeli politicians react to the Japanika attacks
Democrats party leader Yair Golan blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the string of attacks, saying that he was an "unfit and failed minister."
"We said this would happen," he posted on X/Twitter. "When Ben-Gvir abandoned the fight against crime in Arab society, we warned that the violence wouldn't stay there - it would spill over into every street in Israel. And that's exactly what's happening."
Fragmentation grenades thrown
Earlier on Monday, four fragmentation grenades were thrown at buildings in separate episodes.
An explosion was heard in Herzliya after a suspicious object was thrown at a building, according to a statement by the Israel Police.
Police were dispatched to an intersection in central Herzliya after the incident. There were no injuries, but minor property damage has been reported.