Last update - 00:00 08/10/2006
Taibeh man, 24, shot dead in apparent blood-feud between rival clans
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
A 24-year-old Taibeh man was shot dead on Saturday outside an auto supply store at the entrance to the Arab city in what police say is yet another episode in the long-standing blood-feud between two rival clans, the Hariris and the Abdel Khaders. Two teenagers, one aged 14 and the other 18, were severely wounded by the perpetrator.
Saturday's shooting is believed to have been a revenge killing for the fatal shooting of Nimr Hariri last week in Kfar Qasem.
Just before 4 P.M. on Saturday police received a report of shots fired at the entrance to Taibeh. Then another shooting was reported in a restaurant. The initial investigation revealed that two unknown assailants drove up to the auto supply store, located at a gas station off of road 444. One of them opened fire on the store, injuring the 18-year-old and the 14-year-old. From there the pair apparently headed to the restaurant, where they located one of its workers, a 24-year-old Taibeh resident. They shot him at close range, killing him instantly, and then fled in the car.
A large police contingent began to comb the area for signs of the assailants, with the aid of a police helicopter. As of last night, no arrests had been made.
Last Tuesday, Nimr Hariri, 31, of Umm al-Fahm was killed in a drive-by shooting. He was hit by a semi-automatic weapon, while he was standing in a used car lot at the entrance to Kfar Qasem. A relative standing next to him was moderately injured in the attack. No suspects have been apprehended.
The Hariris and the Abdel Khaders are known crime families; police consider the Hariri family to be one of the strongest crime organizations in the country. Police say the family is involved in gambling, drugs, extortion and other crimes in the center and north of Israel. Both families are originally from Taibeh, but most of the Hariris left the town and relocated in Umm al-Fahm and Jaljulia years ago.
About two years ago the reputed head of the Hariri organization, Yihyeh Hariri, was murdered. However, the feared heating-up of the feud did not occur, and things have been mainly quiet until now between the two clans.