A 59-year-old Israeli merchant, Simha Glitzer, was fatally wounded in a hotel in Nicosia, Cyprus, this morning by a young Jordanian gunman who eluded police roadblocks and is believed to have escaped from the island.
Glitzer, who owned a leather tannery in Petach Tikvah and made frequent business trips to Cyprus, was shot in the shoulder as he was descending the stairs of the Nicosia Palace Hotel on the way to the airport. He died later of a hemorrhage.
The killer was identified as Al Eidan Sulieman Maali who, police said, arrived from Beirut last Saturday, the day Glitzer arrived from Tel Aviv. Both were registered at the same hotel. The Jordanian escaped through the narrow streets of Nicosia’s old quarter despite a police cordon of the area.
All seaports and airports were closed but police believe the gunman may have boarded a Beirut-bound plane shortly after the murder. Police said there was no evidence of commercial rivalry and that the only explanation of the murder was political.
Reporting the stories that define our era. When history unfolds in real-time, the Jewish world turns to JTA. Your support ensures we can document the complexities of war and the resilience of Jewish communities with integrity.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
