ANALYSIS / Was suspected Netanya mob hit attempt an inside job?

Charlie Abutbul enjoys the high status of a "criminal" in his hometown of Netanya, but since his recent conviction for operating casino boats in Eilat, he had been keeping a low criminal profile: He has not conducted any underworld arbitrations and he didn't stand at the head of a group of obedient "soldiers."

It was Charlie's brother Felix Abutbul, who was murdered in Prague in 2002, who was responsible for his clan's "crime family" label. He gained fame in the 1980s after being arrested in Britain with other Israelis for the attempted kidnap of a Nigerian cabinet minister. He served six years for the crime, although it's still unclear who was behind it.

When Felix returned to Israel he cemented his standing in the local gambling- club industry. The period also marked the start of the feud among rival Israeli crime organizations that eventually led Felix to transfer his base of operations to Prague, where he was killed in 2002.

For two more years, his son Assi remained in Prague, but when he returned to Israel in 2004 he tried to claim his father's place. Assi's younger brother, Francois, is considered a cooler customer, but in 2001 he was sent to prison for extortion, violence and weapons possession, after an undercover police officer pretended to be a bodyguard working for him. He was released in 2006.

Assi continued to run the family's bakery-restaurant in Netanya and other businesses, as well as engaging in crime. He was once allied with Zeev Rosenstein, who is currently serving out a 12-year U.S. sentence in an Israeli prison. Assi has evaded a number of assassination attempts, including the firing of a LAW missile at his home in Netanya. In the last two years, he has been involved in several criminal cases and was convicted on weapons- trafficking charges. He is currently standing trial for heading a crime organization and extorting businessmen.

Charlie Abutbul has six children, including "Little" Francois, who is currently facing murder charges in the 2005 death of Ra'anan Levy, 18, outside a Kibbutz Shefayim club.

Unlike in earlier times, it is difficult to point to clear rivalries today between crime organizations in Israel. The most recent bitter conflicts involving these organizations have actually been internal ones. In their investigation of Monday's assassination attempt, the police will be examining whether Charlie Abutbul has been embroiled in a dispute with known criminals, or even whether the shooting was part of an internal family dispute.