Police arrest 12-year-old for bringing weapons to school, alleged intent to harm others
In an interview with 103FM’s Nissim Mishal and Anat Davidov, the school’s principal, Amir Les, added that the suspect had been released the same day, but “ won’t be returning to the school at all.”
A 12-year-old was arrested in the Tel Aviv area after bringing assorted weapons to school, allegedly to use against other students, Israel Police confirmed on Wednesday.
Police said the weapons included a knife, a taser, and two lighters, noting that the child had been brought in for questioning.
In an interview with 103FM’s Nissim Mishal and Anat Davidov, the school’s principal, Amir Les, added that the suspect had been released the same day, but “ won’t be returning to the school at all.”
“We are talking about a student we would call an ‘edge case student,’ someone very far from the norm. He does not belong to the school’s registration district,” Les explained. “It was not very surprising; this is a child who has displayed fairly extreme behavior in the past, although not violent.”
“Violence does not begin with murder; it begins with terrible and horrible language, very ugly behaviors. These are broad things,” he said. “If every other child spits on the street, in my opinion, this is a picture of violence. Of course, it progresses upwards to murder.”
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)
Rising uptick of minor violence
The incident follows an uptick of violence committed by minors over the past few weeks, the most extreme of which was the murder of Yemanu Binyamin Zalka, a Petah Tikva pizzeria manager, on the eve of Independence Day.
He was killed after asking a group of teenagers to stop causing a disturbance in the pizzeria where he was working.
A total of 16 suspects have so far been arrested for their involvement in Zalka’s death.
According to witnesses, the group waited for him to leave work, attacked him, and one of the suspects eventually stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital and was pronounced dead after doctors fought to save him.
“A lot of people loved him,” Zalka’s older brother told the press outside the pizzeria where he used to work. “A very good boy who never bothered his parents, us, or me, his older brother. Really, a really good boy.”
Hodaya Ran and 103FM contributed to this story.
