Police: Probe into murder of top lawyer will be long, complicated

Israel Police said Thursday that the investigation into the murder of prominent crime attorney Yoram Haham would be long and complicated, as the victim had apparently created many enemies over the course of his career.

Haham was murdered on Wednesday evening in an explosion near Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv, when a car bomb apparently exploded as he was driving.

The death of the veteran criminal attorney stunned police and the criminal legal community. "In this criminal attack a lawyer was killed and that is a very serious event," said Tel Aviv Police Chief Ilan Franco last night, who arrived on the scene and called the incident a "criminal attack."

Franco added: "However, it is still not clear if this murder had to do with his work or another matter. A preliminary evaluation revealed several possible investigative directions and a number of urgent investigative steps were taken tonight that will reveal a dominant direction."

Haham, 53, was the divorced father of four daughters.

Police sources said that although this is a serious incident, it does not constitute an escalation. "Unfortunately, we have already seen such serious crossing of lines," said the sources.

"It's no longer surprising that lawyers are murdered here, it has happened and it will happen and it is sad," a lawyer and friend of the victim said in a choked voice.

At about 7 P.M. there was a loud explosion on Yigal Alon outside the headquarters of rescue organization Magen David Adom. "We heard a loud explosion very close to our building and immediately ran to the place, where we found a completely destroyed vehicle," said medic Alon Friedman of the scene. Medics declared Haham dead at the scene.

Major police forces arrived on the scene as well as police sappers. Preliminary investigation revealed that Haham was driving his gray Isuzu Trooper south on Yigal Alon Street toward the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood. The huge explosion occurred as he approached the branch of the Mega supermarket chain. The explosion diverted the four-wheel drive vehicle to the right and it continued a few meters further, where it crashed into a car carrying two women. The two women were slightly injured and were taken to receive medical treatment.

Police on the scene began investigating the explosion which indicated a case of a criminal nature. Franco said at the scene, "There is no doubt this was very accurate work." In minutes though it became clear the victim was the senior attorney.

The car bomb was not small and detectives at the scene worked for hours to find clues as to how it was detonated. "Elimination" by explosion in a passing car is a well-known murder method in the underworld. The device is usually detonated by remote control. In most of the cases where such an explosion has been solved, the operator was found to have been standing a few meters from the site and personally ascertained that the explosion took place. However, it is possible that yesterday's bomb worked on a timing device, a much less common trigger.

Haham was not killed by a rival in a fit of rage. Police are aware that this type of killing involves careful planning. The settling of accounts using car bombs is typical for the murders of high-ranking underworld figures.

The investigation into the murder will be handled by the Tel Aviv District's central unit. This is the same police unit that has tried unsuccessfully for several years to solve the murder of attorney Anat Plinner; however it also successfully solved the murder of Judge Adi Azar.

Police could not say yesterday if Haham had recently filed any complaints, but they are aware his name has been mentioned in relation to a number of disputes.

"We plan to immediately open up our informants system and find out if he had any disputes and with whom," Franco said, adding he had already updated Police Chief David Cohen on the matter.