Police charge three alleged hit squad members with murder, extortion in northern Israel

ByELI ASHKENAZIAUGUST 20, 2026 09:04An indictment was filed on Wednesday against three alleged members of a hit squad that prosecutors say is affiliated with a crime organization in northern Israel.The defendants - Ayman Ibrahim, 43, of Sajur; Said Maddah, 28, of Sammui; and Ronen Araida, 19, of Kiryat Shmona - have been charged over their involvement in the murders of contractor Marwan Abu Shahin, 52, of Bukata, and Saada Saada, 56, of Hurfeish, which took place in June.Araida was also charged with attempted murder in Yarka.On June 19, police received reports of shots fired at close range at a vehicle in Bukata. Abu Shahin, who investigators said was the intended target, and Saada, who was a bystander, were both pronounced dead at the scene.During an undercover investigation, police discovered that the hit squad had allegedly organized the killing in advance, and according to the indictment, the defendants rented a vacation cabin in Bukata one day before the murder, arriving there in vehicles they had purchased from a car lot in Usfiya.Illustration of arrested suspects on their way to hearing at a District Court. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)Several arrests, main suspect evades captureWhen the investigation became public, several suspects were arrested, and vehicles were seized, including the vehicle police say was used in the murder, which was found hidden on a street in Kiryat Shmona.The main suspect in the shooting, however, managed to escape, and Central Unit detectives conducted a manhunt for him for weeks.On July 5, detectives were operating in Yarka in an attempt to locate the main suspect when, according to police, they spotted a masked man leaving a business after shooting an employee there and seriously wounding him.The detectives arrested the gunman at the scene while he was armed with a handgun. Only after removing his face covering did they discover, police said, that he was Ronen Araida, the main suspect in the Bukata murders for whom they had been searching.Araida was subsequently charged with an additional count of attempted murder over the Yarka shooting.Debt swelled from NIS 1.8 million to NIS 3.2 millionThe murder was preceded by an extortion case involving Abu Shahin several months earlier. On December 25, 2025, shots were fired at the contractor's home after he allegedly refused extortion demands made against him, according to the investigation.An investigation by the Kinneret Subdistrict crime-fighting unit found that a group presenting itself as part of a crime organization claimed that Abu Shahin's business debt, which had stood at NIS 1.8 million, had grown to approximately NIS 3.2 million.According to the investigation, hundreds of thousands of shekels and Abu Shahin's private vehicle were extorted from him under threat.Prosecutors subsequently filed an indictment against 10 people involved in the case, and Abu Shahin was included on the prosecution's witness list. Several months later, in June, he was shot dead in Bukata."Solving murder cases and thwarting serious crime are at the top of the Northern District's priorities,” Northern District Commander Meir Eliyahu said after police announced that the case had been solved.“District police are investing the best resources, technological means, and intelligence capabilities to reach every scene, solve every case, and bring the suspects to justice. Even at this very moment, our best police officers are working with full force to ensure that everyone who takes part in serious crime is put behind bars."Follow us on Google