The Northern District Attorney's Office has filed an indictment and a request for detention until the end of proceedings against 33-year-old Malek Zoabi, a resident of the village of Nin, who is accused of torching a concrete mixer truck in the Beit She'an industrial zone last month. According to police reports, the truck, which had been purchased by its owner only days before the incident, went up in flames in a parking lot near a factory in the industrial zone.
As a result of the fire, the truck was declared a total loss, with financial damage estimated at approximately 700,000 NIS. The incident occurred on the night of August 15, when a fire report reached the police dispatch center. Firefighting teams summoned to the scene brought the blaze under control, and a professional examination conducted in cooperation with a fire investigator determined that the fire was a deliberate arson carried out using a flammable substance.
At the start of the investigation, police faced a significant difficulty as the owner of the truck claimed he was not involved in any dispute with anyone and had received no threats, leaving the investigation team without an initial lead. However, intensive intelligence and technological activity, which included the collection of dozens of security camera videos in the area and analysis of the travel routes of suspicious vehicles, led to a breakthrough. Investigators succeeded in locating footage from security cameras at a gas station in the north of the country, in which the suspect is seen filling canisters with fuel.
According to police data, the footage was recorded shortly before the arson occurred. On August 24, the investigation became public, and the suspect was arrested. In addition to the video footage, the police strengthened the evidentiary infrastructure by seizing the vehicle that was, according to suspicion, used to commit the act. The commander of the Beit She'an station, Chief Superintendent Hadar Amar, noted that this was a complex investigation that required the use of sophisticated means.
According to her, arson offenses are often particularly challenging to prove, but in this case, the police succeeded in achieving a full resolution. Parallel to this proceeding, a previous case was noted that occurred in March 2025 in Majdal Shams, in which an indictment was filed under similar circumstances for arson against a vehicle on the background of a financial dispute. Now that the indictment has been filed with the court, the legal decision will pass to the judge, who will examine the evidence and discuss the prosecution's request to keep the defendant in custody until the end of the legal proceedings against him.