Two men murdered over the weekend

The crimes in Beersheba and Kalansuwa were apparently both underworld assassinations.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
crime 224 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski and AP [file])
crime 224
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski and AP [file])
Two men were shot dead in gangland violence over the weekend. In Kalansuwa, an unidentified gunman shot dead Yosef Hashav, 38, in a drive-by shooting on Friday evening. Local residents say Hashav was a member of the Hariri crime family, which has reportedly fallen out with the Abd al-Kadar family from Taiba. Police recovered a burned-out vehicle near Taiba minutes after the shooting, and believe it was used in the drive-by. Hashav was "sprayed with bullets," eyewitnesses said, adding that a machine gun was likely used due to the large number of bullets fired. Hashav was killed as he exited a local grocery store. Also on Friday, a 24 year-old man was shot dead in the parking lot of his apartment building in Beersheba. Moshe Zitun sustained bullet wounds across his upper body, of which he later died in the hospital. Police said a criminal motive was likely behind the slaying, but emphasized that the investigation was in its beginning stages. "The deceased is well known to us because of past offenses, and all lines of inquiry are being followed," Negev police said.