Man linked to Likud shot dead in apparent gangland slaying

A man reported to have close ties to senior politicians in the ruling Likud party was shot dead Sunday in the city of Rishon Lezion by a gunman who escaped on a motorcycle.

The victim, in his 50s and whose name was not released for publication, was gunned down in the entrance to a building on Hakukiya Street, where his partner lives.

Police said the attack was likely non-terror related and may be linked to underworld crime gangs. If so, it would be the third suspected gangland killing in March.

The gunman was waiting for the victim outside and opened fire, hitting him in the upper body before riding away, according to initial reports.

Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived at the scene tried to resuscitate the man. He was taken to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Police searched the area for the shooter.

Reports said the man was a well-known businessman active in the Likud party, which is led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was also said to have ties to former and current government ministers.

The shooting came a week after a man was blown up in his car in Tel Aviv in a criminal underworld slaying: Avner Mayo was a figure known to police, who had reportedly run afoul of two major organized crime families by turning state witness.

Mayo’s car, a white Hummer, went up in flames on the corner of Devora HaNeviah and Moshe Sneh streets in the Ramot Tzahala neighborhood of Tel Aviv last Sunday morning.

On March 7 an Israeli woman, 30, was shot dead in front of her three young children on Jerusalem Boulevard in the southern city of Beersheba in a criminal underworld slaying.

Police said the victim was the wife of an imprisoned member of a criminal organization who testified against the organization.

In October 2015, an indictment was filed against the husband for sending threatening messages to his wife.