Izzat Hamad, the man killed in a targeted murder in the underworld on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, was “a leading extortionist” in the center of the country, Channel 13 reported.
Hamad, 55, was riding a motorcycle when he was killed A suspicious mob hit the streets of South Tel Aviv, by another motorcyclist. Magnus David Adom medics said they found him lying on the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Attempts to revive him failed, and they were forced to declare him dead.
According to Channel 13, Hamad spent 12 years in prison for attempted murder and was released in 2004. He was in and out of jail several times over the next 15 years. Four of Hamad’s brothers have also been killed allegedly for their involvement in mob activities centered in Jaffa.
Walla News called Hamad “the king of the security racket”, and a police officer told the news site that he was “the head of a criminal organization that was in conflict with some other criminals. He had a lot of enemies and it is now clear.” Not who sent the killers.”
Channel 12 reported that the residents of Jaffa were afraid of the consequences after the murder of such a powerful man.
“When someone so big is hit, we are very worried – there is no way he can pass easily,” said one resident. “It is only a matter of time until revenge happens. The biggest worry is that it will take Jaffa back to the days of the 90s murders.
Illustrative. Police at the crime scene in Jaffa. (Ronnie Shutter/Flash90)
The resident said: “Everyone in Jaffa knew Izzat Hamad – from young to old. He was a national level criminal. He was living on borrowed time for many years.”
Arab cities and towns have experienced an increase in violence in recent years, with organized crime seen as the main driver. Arabs blame the Israeli police, which they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore violence, including family feuds, mafia wars and violence against women.
The Abraham Initiative, a group campaigning against violence in Arab society, said on Saturday ahead of Jaffa’s killing that 48 billion civilians have been killed in the country as a result of violent crime since the beginning of the year. It noted that 28 of this year’s deaths were under the age of 30.
In 2020, 96 billion Israelis were killed, the highest annual toll ever in recent memory.
According to police, more than 90 percent of shootings in Israel last year took place in Arab communities, although Arab Israelis make up about a fifth of the country’s population.