(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, JANUARY 10 - Fear and scenes straight
out of mafia films were seen today in broad daylight in central
Tel Aviv. Passengers in bus number 51 must have felt like they
had been throw into a thriller when, before their very eyes, a
white motorcycle pulled up alongside a Mazda car and a hitman
attached a bomb to the left door. The driver quickly jumped
outside and ran after the motorcycle. A few seconds later a
powerful blast froze the blood in the veins of hundreds of
passers-by who were near the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel
Aviv and the Azrieli Towers.
While the blast was destroying the Mazda and injuring around
ten of the bus passengers, the target of the attack (thought to
be a local mafia boss) had already fled. And when the first
rescue teams arrived to put out the flames and help the injured,
the car was already empty. It was around 1pm when the bomb shook
the windows of the Ministry of Defence, according to the ANSA
correspondent on location. A metallic voice issuing from
loudspeakers gave orders: get away from the windows, evacuate
the offices, and gather in the central area of each level of the
massive building. Initially there was concern over it for being
yet another terrorist attack, and armed military patrols
immediately took up position around the ministry. However, the
police soon understood that this time the incident had been an
attempted settling of scores within Israeli organised crime
groups. The Mazda destroyed belonged to the wife of Nissim
Alperon, a businessman involved in the underworld. Traced to his
house soon afterwards, Alperon tried to brush off the matter,
swearing that he didn't ''have a single enemy'' - to the
disbelief of investigators.
The media notes that Alperon has managed to survive nine
assassination attempts since 2009, earning himself the nickname
of ''a cat with nine lives''. Recently investigators had advised
him to be on guard. (ANSAmed).
