"The struggle is necessary": The extortionist who demanded protection money apologized to the business owners after 10 days of protest
The Abu-Moch family from Baqa al-Gharbiyye launched a 10-day struggle against a demand for protection money, after unidentified individuals fired shots at their supermarket. The family members stopped working, lost money, and gathered daily in protest. According to them, the criminals apologized and pledged not to approach them.
The Abu-Moch family from Baqa al-Gharbiyye launched a 10-day public struggle against the phenomenon of protection money (extortion), after unidentified individuals fired a burst of shots at the "Habeeb" supermarket owned by Issa Shafik Abu-Moch. The shooting followed the family's refusal to pay protection money amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels. In response, family members, young and old, stopped working and incurred financial losses. Every day, hundreds of family members gathered at the site, held protests, voiced opposition to the phenomenon, and guarded the area 24 hours a day for fear of further incidents. According to the family, the struggle ended with an unusual apology from the criminals and a commitment not to approach them. They told ynet: "This struggle was necessary. We decided not to succumb to protection money, even if it's just one shekel." They added that the struggle proved that a united public campaign can tackle negative phenomena like protection money and violence. The article reports on an exceptional case where refusal to pay protection money did not end in violence or murder, as often happens in Arab society, but in an apology.