Yaakov Alperon, considered for many years to be the head of a large criminal organization, was murdered today in an explosion in his car as he was driving near a bus stop on Tel Aviv's Namir Road. Two other people, a youth of 13 who was waiting at the bus stop and an elderly man who was travelling in the car behind Alperon's, were lightly injured in the blast.
The explosion shook the junction of Namir Road and Yehuda Hamaccabi Street in north Tel Aviv close to midday today. The initial investigation found that the explosive charge was small and that the explosion killed Alperon with little damage to the surroundings.
Alperon, 54, was on his way from a court hearing in which his son Dror was accused of extortion with threats. He had been the target of several previous attempts to kill him.
Tel Aviv District Police chief Ilan Franco said that "the background to the explosion is criminal, apparently arising from disputes in the crime world of Tel Aviv and beyond."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 17, 2008
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