Man killed in Ashkelon was son of mobster murdered in 1999

Yossi Buhbut (R)

A man shot to death in Ashkelon on Saturday night was identified as Yossi Buhbut, the son of known crime figure Pinhas Buhbut. Buhbut Sr. was murdered in 1999, by assassins disguised as policemen at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, where he had been recovering from a previous assassination attempt.

An initial investigation revealed a love-intrigue background to Saturday’s murder. Buhbut, in his 30s, had allegedly been involved with a woman from the north of Israel. 

The assassin waited for him in a public park outside the building on Ort Street, where his mother lives. Police suspect the shooter is also from the north.

The ambulance crew that arrived at the scene found Buhbot with multiple gunshot wounds in his upper body and declared him dead after trying to resuscitate him. A large number of police arrived at the scene to collect evidence.

Police chief superintendent Shimon Portal, commander of the Ashkelon force, also attended the crime scene. “The fight began up north, with the murder victim only arriving recently in Ashkelon from the north,” revealed Portal.

Another murder also took place in the south this weekend, in Be’er Sheva. A woman in her 60s was found in her home with signs of violence on the upper part of her body. Police who arrived at the scene opened an investigation. Her partner was arrested on suspicion that he may have killed her with a hammer.

Ashkelon witnessed two assassination attempts late last year. A car bomb exploded on Montefiore Street, injuring two criminals identified with Shalom Domrani’s crime organization. The two, both in their 40s, were evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center with serious wounds. One of them was declared dead at Barzilai.

A week later, Dror Damari, 27, was critically wounded by a car bomb on Ort Street. An ambulance team treated his wounds at the scene and evacuated him to Barzilai.