Suspect in quadruple Abu Snan murder nabbed at airport; Shin Bet said to exit probe
Man detained as he apparently tries to flee the country; security agency reportedly determines killings not connected to local politics, leaving case to police
Police on Thursday apprehended a suspect in this week’s quadruple homicide in the northern town of Abu Snan as he was trying to leave the country.
The man, who police said was a member of a crime family, was detained at Ben Gurion Airport, apparently trying to flee to Turkey or Dubai.
The suspect was not identified beyond being a resident of northern Israel, as there is a court gag order on most details of the investigation. He is set to be brought before a court for a closed-door remand hearing.
Following the arrest, Hebrew media also reported that the Shin Bet security service would no longer play a role in the probe into the killings.
On Wednesday the government said the security organization would assist police in combating crime in the Arab community that stemmed from criminal organizations trying to influence municipal elections. Crimes targeting state institutions are already under the agency’s purview, and it was not clear that the announcement represented a significant shift.
Members of the government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have been calling for the involvement of the Shin Bet in the fight against rampant criminal violence in the Arab community, a move that faced resistance from inside and outside the security service. The Shin Bet generally fights terror and security-related offenses.
The Abu Snan attack saw four people, including a mayoral candidate, gunned down in the Arab town on Tuesday.
On Thursday, media reports in Ynet and Walla said that the Shin Bet had surmised that the Abu Snan killings were not linked to local politics and were instead part of a feud between crime families. That being the case, police would be solely responsible for the probe.
One of the victims, Ghazi Sa’ab, was running for mayor in the upcoming municipal elections and had announced the launch of his campaign only hours prior to his death. Sa’ab was a former IDF officer and Border Police officer, and in recent years operated a business in Abu Snan, the Haaretz daily reported.
The other fatalities were identified as his relatives Zohair al-Din Sa’ab and Amir Sa’ab, along with Salman Halabi of Yarka. All four victims belonged to the Druze minority.
Druze leaders announced a strike in community institutions on Wednesday in response to the killing, and blamed the police and government for the lack of security in the north. They appealed to the prime minister to take firm measures to end the carnage.
It was one of the deadliest single acts of criminal violence this year, coming two months after five people were killed in a mass shooting at a carwash in Yafa an-Naseriyye.
The shooting was also the second to target a local Arab politician in as many days.
On Monday, Tira’s director general Abdel Rahman Kashua was killed in a shooting that Netanyahu said “crossed a red line.” Two other people were lightly to moderately wounded in the shooting.
According to the Abraham Initiatives anti-violence advocacy group, 156 members of Israel’s Arab community have been killed since the start of the year, mostly in shootings. During the same time frame last year, 68 were killed.
The Times of Israel Community.