Top Aide to Crime Boss Mosely Arrested in Grenade Attack Probe

Aviאל Wahal, considered the right-hand man of crime boss Yossi Mosely and a key target for the Tel Aviv District Crime Unit, was arrested Tuesday as part of an investigation into a series of grenade attacks. Police are holding Wahal in connection with the hurling of fragmentation grenades at a Japnika branch in Rosh Pinah, though he is suspected of involvement in other incidents as well.

Wahal, who denies the charges, claims he was not in the northern region at the time of the alleged attack. He stated he is a religious man who does not leave his home during the "Three Weeks" period preceding the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av. He asserted his only trip north was a family vacation to Tiberias after Tisha B'Av, which was after the dates in question. "You are trying to frame me for something I am not involved in," Wahal reportedly told investigators.

The arrest is considered the most significant in the ongoing "grenade wars" investigation, second only to the arrest of Yossi Mosely himself. At least two fragmentation grenades were also thrown at Wahal's own home in Herzliya as part of the same conflict.

Wahal was arrested at his home by officers from the Northern District and transferred to the Kinneret Subdistrict's crime-fighting unit, which is leading the investigation. His lawyers are arguing that he provided an alibi placing him in central Israel during the incident, which they claim police have not yet verified. They are requesting his immediate release, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

This arrest follows other developments in the case, including the administrative order against Yossi Mosely and reports about a suspect consulting ChatGPT before allegedly setting fire to a Japnika branch in Givatayim.