Moroccan-Israeli cooperation solves a bombing case from 2012

In a revenge killing for a southern Israel gang, Lior Hadad, 36, was accused with the murder and attempted murder of Zion Yanna and his brother. The day following the incident, he fled to Morocco.

Israel Police stated on Friday that a car bombing in Ashkelon in 2012 that killed a man called Zion Yanna had been solved.

Lior Hadad, 36, was charged with setting the bomb that killed Yanna and critically injured his brother, who was in the car with him, at the Beersheba District Court. Hadad had escaped to Morocco shortly after the attack and stayed there for over a decade.

On April 22, he was arrested after a year-long investigation by the criminal division’s Southern region with Moroccan officials.

Hadad has been charged with murder and attempted murder, and his detention has been prolonged several times. He set the device as a form of retaliation for the Yanna brothers’ decision to break links with a well-known criminal gang linked to Shalom Domrani and Mumi Kasentini.

Domrani was freed from prison in October after serving a six-year term after agreeing to a plea deal in which he admitted to two counts of attempted murder, illegal weapons supply, and plotting to commit a crime. Since the beginning of the year, Israel Police have noticed an increase in criminal activities in Ashdod and Ashkelon in anticipation of his release.

“The limit does not exist for us, just as it does not exist for criminals,” said Barak Mordechai, the Lachish District Commander. “As this arrest demonstrates, Israel Police has a broad reach.” When it comes to bringing Israeli perpetrators to justice, it’s only a matter of time.”

According to the accusation, Hadad employed a half-kilo of explosive bricks, electric explosives, a wireless operating system, and a stolen automobile. He then sold the Yanna brothers a cover story in which they would partner up in shops in Ashdod and Ashkelon in exchange for a free car.

He then fastened the explosives to the bottom of the automobile using bogus license plates. He set off the explosion and fled as soon as the two got into the automobile.

However, only one of the devices – the one in which Zion was seated – went off. The second didn’t, and his sibling was able to flee. The next day, Hadad fled to Morocco.