The United Arab Emirates arrested three suspects in the killing of Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the UAE's Interior Ministry (MOI) announced Sunday.
Kogan was reported missing by his family on Thursday.
A ministry statement did not give further details on the suspects but said the ministry would use "all legal powers to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denounced Kogan's death as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act.”
“The murder of the late Zvi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist attack,” the PMO said. “The State of Israel will act by all means and bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice.”“The Israeli mission in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with the family since the beginning of the incident and continues to support them during this difficult time,” the PMO and Foreign Affairs Ministry stated. “His family in Israel has also been informed.”
How was Zvi Kogan found?
Kogan’s body was found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman and is about an hour and a half from Dubai, though it is not clear if he was killed there or elsewhere, former Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara said.
Kara said he was waiting for the UAE to finish an investigation but blamed Iran for the murder. “The one enemy [Israel has] today is the terror and Iran that supports the terror. The indication that we have now is this is the direction of the investigation,” said Kara, a Likud member who works to promote economic relations between Israel and the Arab world.Information in Israel’s possession indicated that Kogan may have been under Iranian surveillance, reports said.Iran’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.Kara said Kogan’s body would be sent to Israel for burial after the UAE finished investigating.Maya Gur Arieh and Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.