Former police officer Eldad Hadad was shot on Saturday in an apparent assassination attempt coordinated by an organized crime syndicate. Hadad and three other officers were found guilty two years ago of having attempted to attack criminal mastermind Michael Mor in revenge for his attacks on police; the four were dubbed “the Avenging Officers” by the media.

Hadad was shot at close range by two attackers and was seriously injured, suffering multiple bullet wounds. However, he made what witnesses called a “miraculous” recovery and is now conscious and responsive. His condition has been upgraded to moderate.

Police arrested a suspect in the attack, a 28-year-old man from Nahariya known to be friendly with Mor. The suspect denied any part in the shooting, and has since been released from custody.

MK Bibi: A Police Failure
MK Aryeh Bibi (Kadima), who heads the Knesset Lobby for Police Officers, accused police of failing to protect Hadad and his fellow “avenging officers.”

“The writing was on the wall. They shot at his brother not long ago, and it was known that they wanted to get him as well,” Bibi said of the shooting. The attack was “a big failure... an outrage,” he said, and warned that by failing to protect a former officer or even allow him a personal weapon for self-defense, the police force had lost its power of deterrence.

“How is the police force not protecting him? How can it be that they succeeded in hurting him?” Bibi continued. “We cannot let this pass by in silence. The police must bring all of its power to bear to catch the shooters and those who sent them.”

Hadad's family voiced similar criticism. “This is a very serious police failure... The criminals won,” relatives said Sunday.

Response: Security Restored
Police responded Sunday by announcing that Hadad and the three other officers would be given enhanced security, including bodyguards. The four had already been provided with an officer to guard their homes, and police had been conducting extra surveillance in their neighborhoods, senior officers said.

However, another of the “avenging officers” told reporters that claims that guards were stationed at the former officers' homes were false. “I don't know where they get this stuff,” he said.