Israeli Court Extends Detention of Suspect in Lawyer Arbel Feldman's Murder

The Israeli Magistrate's Court extended the detention of Ahmad al-Rajoub, a 23-year-old from Ramla, by 12 days on Wednesday. Al-Rajoub is suspected of murdering lawyer Arbel Feldman at his office in Rishon Lezion. According to police, al-Rajoub, who was a client of Feldman, arrived at the office armed with an unlicensed handgun following a dispute over a 15,000 shekel compensation claim. During the confrontation, he allegedly fired at Feldman at least four times before fleeing the scene and discarding the weapon, which remains missing. He later surrendered to police at the Ashdod station.

During the court hearing, police stated that al-Rajoub exercised his right to silence and claimed to be "psychiatric." Authorities suspect premeditation due to the suspect's armed arrival. Contrary to earlier reports, police confirmed al-Rajoub has no prior criminal record. His defense attorney, Oren Sasson, questioned the investigation's conduct, noting that al-Rajoub's hands were handcuffed in a way that prevented gunshot residue testing. Sasson also described his client as having complex mental health issues and lacking anger control, adding that recordings exist of conversations between al-Rajoub and the victim. He further claimed al-Rajoub was a candidate for service in the Border Police.

The court found reasonable suspicion linking al-Rajoub to the crime and approved the detention extension for further investigation. A colleague of Feldman, present during the shooting, recounted hearing a brief conversation followed by gunshots. Upon entering the room, he found Feldman bleeding under his desk and immediately called emergency services. He described Feldman as a modest and gentle person who was planning a family vacation. Recently, Feldman had confided about being harassed by a client, but no one anticipated the situation would end in murder.