Owner of exploded Jaffa store arrested on suspicion of arson

Blaze that killed 3 may have been set by owner of suspected unlicensed premises, who allegedly had large outstanding debts

The owner of a store in Jaffa, where an explosion on Monday night claimed the lives of three people, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of arson.

Police sources said that traces of chemicals found at the site suggest the explosion may have been started deliberately. According to a report on Hadashot TV news, the owner had large outstanding debts.

Investigators had initially believed an illegally installed gas canister was responsible for the explosion, which caused the one-story structure on Yefet Street in the southern Tel Aviv neighborhood to collapse and sparked a blaze and secondary explosions.

The dead were identified as Rimon Huri, 20, of Jaffa; Ali Abu Jama, 22, of Taibe; and Mohammed Yassin of Tulkarm.

Walid Kaboub, a lawyer for the store owner, who has not been named, denied he had any involvement.

“My client denies any connection to the suspicion attributed to him, and I am sorry that my client was charged with a crime that has nothing to do with him, and it is being used as a means of unnecessary pressure,” he said.

In addition to to the pirate gas canister, which was attached to the building without proper safety measures and inspections, the premises themselves may not have been licensed as a paint store, police said. Although the owner claims he had the relevant paperwork, firefighters said the license was invalid.

Police said investigations into the incident were still ongoing.

The bodies were found in the rubble after firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Five people were injured.