Assassination squad misses target as explosive device falls from car
According to the indictment, three individuals planned to assassinate a rival using an explosive device attached to a BMW. However, a different person entered the vehicle, and the device fell off during the drive. The suspects detonated it anyway, causing a massive explosion, but the assassination attempt failed.
A lethal explosive device was attached to the undercarriage of a car belonging to the rival of the assassination planners while they waited on a nearby street, intending to trigger the mechanism once the vehicle began moving. Subsequently, two critical factors emerged that contradicted their plan: a person other than the intended target entered the vehicle, and the device fell onto the road shortly after the car started moving, without the driver noticing. It appears the "assassins" were unaware of this as well.
They activated the device, which detonated with a massive roar, creating a crater in the road and damaging several nearby vehicles. The assassins arrived at the scene shortly thereafter, only to realize the murder attempt had failed. The squad consisted of three individuals: Matan Arbiv, 29, from Hadera; Eviatar Yakubi, 34, from Rosh HaAyin; and Nitai Lagami, 22, from Elad. Due to a long-standing conflict, they decided to eliminate their rival using an explosive device in his car.
To carry out the plan, they equipped themselves with tracking devices attached to the rival's two cars, as well as two motorcycles. One participant even rented a vehicle to assist in the operation. In early July, the three set out from Tirat Yehuda to Ashdod, carrying the explosive device.
Upon locating the vehicles, Lagami attached the device to the undercarriage of a BMW and prepared it for remote activation. The device contained high-explosive material capable of killing a human being.
The group waited for the opportune moment. Two of them monitored the target using a tracker containing a SIM card. When the car began moving, they followed it from a distance that allowed for activation but prevented them from seeing that the device had fallen off. One of them triggered the device, which exploded on the asphalt.
Frustrated by the failure, the assassins returned to Tirat Yehuda. A swift police investigation, including the review of street cameras and the use of the "Eagle Eye" system, allowed investigators to map the route of the tracking vehicle. At midnight, police arrived at the location where the three were staying in Tirat Yehuda and arrested two of them; Arbiv was captured later. The conspirators burned the equipment used in the attempt to destroy evidence.
Police investigators secured significant evidence linking the three to the attempt, including cellular phone recordings, documentation from the scene, and rental car records. The case was transferred to the Southern District Attorney's Office. Attorney Alex Dranboim filed indictments against the three and requested their detention until the end of legal proceedings at the Beersheba District Court, citing concerns that they might evade justice or disrupt the investigation.
Matan Arbiv is charged with attempted murder, weapons offenses, obstruction of justice, and causing damage with explosive material. Eviatar Yakubi is charged with aiding and abetting attempted murder, similar offenses, and interfering with a police officer. Lagami is charged with attempted murder, weapons offenses, causing damage with explosive material, and interfering with a police officer.
