ISRAEL: Gangland warfare exploded, literally, on to the streets of central Tel Aviv yesterday, when a bomb intended to kill the alleged kingpin of Israel's criminal underworld blew up the money-changer's office he was patronising, killing three passers-by and injuring dozens more.
Locals initially assumed the lunchtime blast was a Palestinian suicide bombing, since the bomb scene was the familiar tableau of torn body parts and smashed glass, with ambulances wailing, radio stations interrupting normal broadcasts for live updates and rescue workers cleaning up the area until late last night. But police quickly established that Israeli criminals were at work.
The intended target, Mr Ze'ev Rosenstein, an alleged gangland leader at the heart of a murderous rivalry with another gang over illegal gambling interests, has escaped at least six previous attempts on his life since 1996.
Mr Rosenstein, who fled with a number of his bodyguards, later went to a local hospital, where he was treated for minor scratches to arms and legs, giving a cheerful thumbs-up for the cameras as he left.
The national police chief, Cdr Shlomo Ahronishky, said last night that the police were "declaring war" on the criminal underworld. Mr Tsachi Hanegbi, the Internal Security Minister, vowed that Israel would combat the gangs with the same determination "as we fight terrorism."
In other fatal violence yesterday six Palestinians were reported killed when Israeli troops entered the Rafah refugee camp at the foot of the Gaza Strip to hunt for a leading member of Islamic Jihad alleged to have orchestrated several bombings and arms-smuggling across the adjacent border with Egypt.