Hours after seven teenagers were arrested Saturday in connection with the stabbing death of a restaurant employee on Independence Day, hundreds gathered outside the eatery demanding more police action.

Local protesters were joined by a number of opposition politicians, who blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Israel Police for inaction on tackling rampant crime and leaving residents living in fear after the murder of 21-year-old Pizza Hut worker Yemanu Binyamin Zelka.

“Ben Gvir, wake up,” participants could be heard chanting in footage.

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz and his fellow party MK Pnina Tamano-Shata attended the rally, as did The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv.

“It is utterly shocking how easily his blood was shed,” Tamano-Shata said at the protest, according to Haaretz. “This is a wake-up call. Blood is being spilled in the streets for no reason. This shows that something is breaking down in our society.”

“There’s another thing that cannot be ignored: it took the police three days to arrest the suspects, when every child in Petah Tikva knew their names,” added Tamano-Shata, who, like Zelka, is a member of the Israeli-Ethiopian community. “The videos and the names were going around, and the police did nothing.”

Channel 12 news aired on Saturday an image of the 15-year-old main suspect in the killing, who was caught on camera holding a knife covered in........

© The Times of Israel