Gunman Tried to Assassinate Criminal in Tel Aviv Shoot-out, Police Suspect

Underworld figure Ben Cohen was shot at in his car near his home in Kikar Hamedina in Tel Aviv Sunday, Israel Police suspects.

Cohen, who has survived assassination attempts in the past, was not injured. In response to Haaretz’s request for a comment on the incident, Cohen, who is a former high-ranking soldier in the Amir Molnar crime family, replied "I don’t know."

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An hour before Cohen's car was found in a Tel Aviv parking garage Sunday morning, his neighbors reported hearing shots. The shooter, who was on a motorcycle, hit the car, which is not bullet proof, five times. Cohen was questioned by police, who detained him and two associates, one of whom is his bodyguard.

Cohen was severely injured by a bomb in his car in 2016. Police said at the time that the explosion was part of a falling out with another senior crime figure who was in prison at the time. According to the police, Cohen and his brother-in-law have broken away from a larger crime ring to go out on their own in loan-sharking, extortion and debt-collecting.