Northern Negev town of Hura
Northern Negev town of HuraIsrael news photo: Hana Levi Julian

Two Negev Bedouin men have been indicted for murder in a blood feud that left a man dead in the town of Hura, near Be'er Sheva.

Hussein and Osama Abu Elkayan were charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, carrying weapons and malicious injury. The indictments were filed Sunday in the Be'er Sheva District Court.

The details of the murder, however were not simple; the attack resembles something more along the lines of the "Showdown at the O.K. Corral" than a shooting in Israel in 2012.

The long-running feud between the Abu Elkayan and the Abu Sabit hamullahs (clans) had been running for years, local sources said. On February 27, matters came to a head. According to court papers, Hussein, 36, and Osama, 33, rammed the Mitsubishi vehicle in which they were riding into a Toyota carrying members of the Abu Sabit clan.

Hussein and Osama allegedly began firing at the occupants of the Toyota. Walid Karab Abu Sabit, was shot in the left shoulder in the attack.

Shariff Abu Sabit, an IDF soldier, fired back using his army-issued weapon to defend himself, according to the indictment, while fleeing on foot. Omar Karab Abu Sabit, also fled on foot.

Two more members of the Abu Sabit family then arrived on the scene – Mohammed and Walid Dhamma -- in a black Skoda vehicle, according to the court papers.

They were joined by the soon-to-be murder victim, Omar Abu Sabit, who arrived in a silver Skoda.

Hussein, Osama, Mohammed and Walid Dhamma all got out of their cars, guns blazing, with an additional unidentified attacker who joined the fray as well.

Hussein and Osama plus the third man allegedly kept firing as they headed for Omar, even as he dropped to the ground after having been hit.

Rushed in a taxi to Soroka Medical Center, Omar was riddled with bullets in his skull, lung, heart, liver, shoulder and legs. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Both families are residents of the village.