Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday weighed in on the murder of a pizzeria worker last week by a group of teenagers, vowing to take action at both the law enforcement and educational levels.

“I was shocked by the heinous murder in Petah Tikva,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, adding that he will meet with Education Minister Yoav Kisch and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to address the incident. Later Sunday, Netanyahu met in his office with both ministers, calling “to deepen the discourse in the education system on preventing violence among youth,” according to his office.

A group of teenagers in Petah Tikva stabbed 21-year-old Pizza Hut worker Yemanu Binyamin Zelka to death last week on Independence Day after he had asked them to stop spraying party foam inside the restaurant branch. The teens waited outside the eatery for him to finish his shift and then surrounded him, stabbing and beating him. He died of his wounds on Thursday.

Seven minors, ages 12-17, were arrested on Saturday in connection with the killing, and an eighth was arrested Sunday.

“The law must be fully applied to the murderers,” Netanyahu said Sunday, adding that “it must be instilled in classrooms and in homes, by teachers and parents, that this is a criminal act that must be denounced.”

Netanyahu also warned against what he described as “wild incitement” that followed the attack: “This is something we cannot accept. We must stop it and uproot it while it is still small.”

His remarks appeared to refer to public outrage following the killing, with hundreds gathering outside the Petah Tikva eatery on Saturday evening........

© The Times of Israel