Police Foil Last-Minute Assassination Plot Against Israeli Crime Figure Eyal Nager

Police in Israel foiled an assassination attempt on Eyal Nager, one of the country’s leading crime figures, after preventing the detonation of an explosive device intended for him. The attempt was stopped yesterday at the last moment, according to the report, and Lahav 433’s Lachish district investigators are credited with identifying the threat in advance.

The article says police in southern Israel have spent the past year blocking a series of clashes between criminal organizations, even as rival gangs continue to fight quietly over territory and influence. Officials believe some criminals are now trying to reignite a cycle of killings in the south.

Nager was for years considered one of the most powerful men in the organization of the murdered crime boss Benny Shlomo, as well as his confidant and a central figure in managing money and criminal activity in Ashdod. After Shlomo’s killing, Nager, who was seen as a bitter rival of the Lavie brothers, chose to end that feud by making peace with them. That move angered people still loyal to Shlomo, who denounced it as “betrayal.”

Since the reconciliation, Nager has reportedly gained strength and influence in Ashdod and the Lachish area, while rival gangs in the city continue trying to regain control of the criminal arena. Police say Lahav 433 has recently succeeded in curbing the movements of the gangs operating in the region, and the foiled attack again highlights the unit’s intelligence capabilities. Still, people familiar with the underworld believe the attempt could undermine the fragile calm that has held in the south in recent years.