Two men were killed in an apparent criminally motivated shooting attack in Jaffa's Etrog Market. The latest attack comes a day after two rockets were fired at an apartment in the coastal town.
The shooting victims have been identified as 42-year-old Mustafa Abu-Khuti from Jaffa and 27-year-old Yasser Abu Shaheb, also from Jaffa.
Tel Aviv police received a call around 4 p.m. Saturday regarding the shooting attack. At the same time, Wolfson hospital in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, reported that two men who sustained gunshot wounds arrived at the medical center.
Large police forces were dispatched to the shooting scene and began collecting evidence, while more forces rushed to the hospital for fear of riots in the wake of the latest attack.
Two men gunned down two weeks ago
Police officials have been largely helpless in the face of the growing wave of Jaffa violence in recent weeks. The latest shooting likely marks the continuation of the ongoing feud between the Atrash and Ahmed families in the town. In recent years, several members of both families were killed or wounded in violence between the two clans.
Saturday's victim, who has a police record over his involvement in car theft, was not involved in the conflict between the two families up until recently. However, investigators are now looking into the possibility that he was shot because of his ties to the Ahmed family.
Two weeks ago, two members of the Atrash family were gunned down on Jaffa's Yefet Street. The double homicide was followed by a shooting attack at a residential building two days ago and the rocket attack Friday, which left two people injured.
Police officials estimate the rocket attack was a case of mistaken identity.
First published: 17:56, 08.27.5