Israeli businessman shot, killed in central Israel

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An Israeli businessman was shot and killed on Friday morning in what police suspect is a criminally motivated murder.

An initial investigation found that the alleged perpetrator was waiting for the victim, Eldad Peri, on a motorcycle in the parking lot outside a farm in the central city of Rehovot.

Police believe that the murder is linked to debts Peri had accumulated in the black market, however he had never filed a complaint.

Eldad Peri at a real estate conference of TheMarker in 2019Ofer Vaknin Ofer Vaknin

Peri, a 44-year-old real estate agent, had accrued debts and was unable to repay his clients. He had been in the process of declaring bankruptcy by order of the court.

According to eyewitnesses, the shooter approached Peri as the latter was going to morning prayer in the nearby synagogue he attends and began talking to him, presumably to confirm the businessman’s identity. He then shot the real estate agent several times from close range and fled.

The man was pronounced dead after unsuccessful attempts at resuscitation.

Peri, owner of “Peri Real Estate,” became known around a decade ago as a manager of several purchasing groups that deal in construction projects, a business model that has become common in recent years.

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His company and projects have grown substantially over the years accumulating in thousands of buyers and hundreds of housing units.

Several projects had been put on hold this past year, while many clients claim he has been embezzling millions of shekels from them; including collecting down payments on apartments that were already pledged to others, depositing money in the company account instead of a required trust account, and more.