Report: Prof's murderers planned to assassinate MK
Knesset looking into possibility man shot dead in Ramat Gan two months ago was mistaken for Knesset member, following statement on al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' website and similarity between vehicles' license plates
The Knesset security officer on Tuesday began looking into the possibility that the murderers of an Israeli professor planned to assassinate a Knesset member and made a mistake due to the similarity between the license plates of the two vehicles.
The Knesset launched an inquiry following information published on the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades website. The organization claimed responsibility for the murder, saying that Prof David Niv was shot by mistake as part of an attempt to assassinate a Knesset member.
In a letter sent to all MKs, Knesset Officer Yitzhak Shadar asked them to check whether they or their family members owned a vehicle similar to the one mentioned on al-Aqsa's website.
Prof Niv, who served as director of the Pain Clinic at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, was murdered about two months ago on a main road in the city of Ramat Gan. His car crashed into a tree, and police officers who were dispatched to the area discovered that it had been sprayed with bullets and that Niv was shot in the head.
Prof Niv had served as president of the European Federation of the IASP Chapters and had worked at the Sourasky Medical Center for more than 20 years.
Immediately after the incident, the police began looking into the possibility that he was mistaken for someone else, as Niv was not familiar to the police.
One MK approached the Knesset officer and reported that his family owned a vehicle similar to the one Niv was driving when he was murdered. Four out of nine digits on the license plates were found to be identical.
The MK asked to remain anonymous. He was surprised by the publication on the website and clarified that the vehicle was under this name but that another family member was using it.
Another MK approached Shadar and informed him that one of his family members owned a vehicle similar to the one Prof Niv was driving, but without a similarity between the license plates.
The defense establishment has received warning on plans to assassinate MKs and senior officials in the past. Six years ago, Minister Rehavam Ze'evi was murdered at the entrance to his hotel room in Jerusalem by Palestinian terrorists. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the murder.
