One suspect in Zelka murder tells cops: ‘Everyone was hitting him, what, should I stop?’

Interrogators confront suspect with video of attack on 21-year-old pizzeria worker as he lay ‘in a pool of blood’; police say 19 suspects arrested

One of the teenagers suspected of involvement in the killing of pizzeria employee Yemanu Binyamin Zelka on Independence Day admitted to police that the 21-year-old victim was “just trying to defend himself” as he was beaten and stabbed, Channel 12 reported Monday.

Zelka, a Pizza Hut employee in Petah Tikva, was stabbed to death on the night of the holiday in an attack by a group of adolescents after he told them not to spray party foam in the restaurant.

The youths waited outside for Zelka to finish his late-night shift, ambushed and beat him, with at least one assailant taking out a knife and stabbing him. He died of his wounds a day later.

According to a partial transcript from the interrogation, published by Channel 12, a police interrogator asked the suspect what he was seen doing in surveillance footage documenting the stabbing in Petah Tikva.

“You are beating him, and he is already lying on the ground. What is he doing at this moment?” the interrogator asked. The suspect responded: “He was just trying to defend himself.”

The interrogator continued: “I don’t get it. Why are you continuing to hit him when he is already completely helpless, on the ground and unable to hurt anybody?”

The youth retorted: “What should I do? Should I hit him and stop midway through? Everyone was hitting [him], what, should I stop?”

The interrogator pressed: “How long did you plan to beat him for? Until he died? You understand that’s what happened. You were hitting him while he was lying in a pool of blood.”

At this point, the suspect stopped responding, according to the report.

All 19 suspects in murder arrested, police say

Police said Monday that all 19 people suspected of involvement in Zelka’s murder had been arrested, following two weeks of searches.

The investigation so far has included “diverse intelligence and technological means, including raids on suspects’ houses, proactive arrests and an ongoing hunt for all those involved, some of whom have tried to escape or to hide in coordination with one another,” according to police.

Central District Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Cohen said he’d spoken with the victim’s family, and pledged to “continue to act with determination, together with prosecutors, until all those involved are brought to justice.”

The suspects in the attack itself are all minors.

According to Hebrew media, the “central suspect” in the case, believed to have carried out the stabbing, is a 15-year-old male.

He has reportedly been stonewalling investigators, though a report last week said he broke his silence to say, “I didn’t murder. I didn’t stab.”

The central suspect’s parents were reportedly also arrested on suspicion of tampering with the investigation, though it was not immediately clear whether police included them in the Monday count.

According to Channel 12, police have received testimony that hours before the murder, the main suspect said: “Who is he, anyway? I’ll stab that zero. I’ll go bring a knife and I’ll get to him, so he won’t mess with me.”

The network also reported, on Friday, that the 15-year-old is expected to be charged with aggravated murder.

Zelka’s killing last month came as a shock to many Israelis and spurred police to ramp up their efforts to combat juvenile delinquency, particularly in Tel Aviv and its environs.

At a Knesset panel on Monday on the topic of rising youth violence, officials from parliament’s Research and Information Center presented findings detailing a sharp rise in juvenile delinquency from 2024 to 2025.

Last week, police chief Danny Levy announced the launch of a nationwide operation, both overt and covert, to combat juvenile delinquency and violence by youth gangs.