A shootout between an Israel Police tactical unit and members of the Abd al-Kader crime family in Taibeh – an Arab town east of Kfar Saba – resulted in the death of an Arab gunman.

According to police, the officers were conducting an operation on Wednesday to remove cameras and barriers placed by the Abd al-Kader´s when they came face-to-face with a pair local gunmen.

A senior police official close to the investigation of the incident told Arutz Sheva "the officers feared for their lives," which led them to open fire when the men brandished their Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The ensuing gunfight, which took place near a local school, resulted in large numbers of police and emergency personnel being dispatched to the scene. Police have arrested five local Arabs in connection with the firefight.

Last month, police arrested five members of the Abd al-Kader crime family during a raid on the family compound. The arrests came after members of the family threatened police officials who removed security cameras and barriers placed around the compound by the clan.

For several weeks police and the Abd al-Kaders played a cat-and-mouse game wherein police removed the barriers and the family reinstalled them – leading to Wednesday´s shootout.

Taibe residents told reporters that, when police operations are over, the barriers and cameras will most likely return.

According to local residents no one dares pass through the neighborhood where the Abd al-Kader compound lies due to harassment by clan members who detain passersby and interrogate them about their activities.

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch visited the city in March and met with the clan´s leader, but no details of their meeting were given. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 05/16/12)