A gunfight in the Negev village of Hura left two men dead on Monday, in what police are saying is the latest chapter in a long-running feud between two rival Beduin families.

The two victims were named as Louie and Omar Abu-Sabit, aged 23 and 27. A third victim was brought to Beersheba´s Soroka Medical Center, where he was hospitalized with light to moderate injuries.

The Abu-Sabit family has for years been involved in a violent feud with the Abu-Elkain family in Hura, north of Beersheba.

While there is a gag order placed on most details of the investigation, police confirmed that the shooting is linked to the feud, and that they have tasked the Negev branch of the YAMAR special investigations unit with solving the case. Police said that following the shooting they deployed reinforcements in and around Hura, specifically in areas where the two families have clashed in the past.

Police said the "massive" reinforcements include checkpoints and a large number of undercover police, some of whom will patrol the funerals for the two victims in an effort to prevent a further outbreak of violence between the two families. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 02/28/12)