Two More Suspects Arrested in Eldar Dayan Case as Investigation Shifts to Pre-Disappearance Fight

Two young men involved in a confrontation with Eldar Dayan and his friends before Dayan's disappearance were arrested on Monday on suspicion of causing serious injury. These suspects, already known to investigators, were initially questioned at the Petah Tikva police station regarding their role in the fight preceding Dayan's disappearance. Following an escalation in suspicion, they were formally detained and are set to appear in Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court for a remand extension hearing.

The arrests redirect the Sharon District Investigation Unit's focus to the initial incident that, according to a key theory, triggered the sequence of events leading to Dayan's disappearance. Dayan and his friends Omri Peretz and Maxim Barberman met another group of youths between Hod Hasharon and Kfar Saba, where a violent altercation broke out. Peretz and Barberman claim Dayan was beaten and that they themselves were also attacked during the fight. After the clash, the three attempted to leave the scene by car, during which one of the other group's members reportedly clung to their vehicle. Believing they might have hit him, Dayan's friends feared police pursuit.

Security footage from a nearby Paz gas station shows the three leaving the store together, confirming Dayan was alive post-fight. This evidence has so far focused suspicion on Peretz and Barberman regarding Dayan's death, rather than the other youths involved in the initial fight. However, Barberman's defense has requested further investigation into the role of the newly arrested suspects in the alleged murder. The defense also suggested the fight may have involved a drug deal, a claim the police have neither confirmed nor denied.

The investigation continues against Peretz and Barberman, who deny harming Dayan. Peretz stated in his interrogation that they lost contact with Dayan and believed he was hiding. Meanwhile, police note inconsistencies in their accounts compared to collected evidence. Authorities await the final forensic report, which could clarify whether injuries from the fight contributed to Dayan's death or if fatal harm occurred later. While the new arrests do not currently alter the murder suspicions against Peretz and Barberman, they refocus the inquiry on the critical hours before Dayan vanished and the unresolved questions about what exactly happened during the fight.