Omar Abu Salok, 15, of Lod, is dead, and another young man is in critical condition after a disturbing drive-by shooting on Israel’s Route 6. It was yet another episode in the endless cycle of crime and violence eating away at the country’s Arab population. This time, the incident took place in broad daylight, under the watchful eye of the law. The target was a convoy of vehicles carrying the Abu Salok family from its home in Lod to the town of Kafr Kassem. Everyone knew that they were fleeing for their lives, so three police cars accompanied them, ostensibly to provide a modicum of protection. It was not enough. As they drove along the highway, another vehicle sped up, pressed itself against the column of cars and opened fire.
The shooting occurred just a few hours after the media reported that the bullet-riddled body of Salman Azbarga, a man in his mid-50s, had been found in his car in the Lod industrial zone. The longstanding vendetta between the city’s Abu Salok and Azbarga families escalated quickly. Within just a few hours, riots broke out in the city.
