Crime figure Francois Abutbul was shot to death Sunday morning by an unidentified motorcyclist in a central Israel gas station.

Francois Abutbul, alleged to be one of Zionist top organized crime bosses, was gunned down overnight by unknown assailants, Israeli police said on Sunday.

Abutbul "was killed in his car at a service station," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Local media reported that two assailants riding motorbikes, their faces covered by helmets, opened fire on Abutbul at a gaz station near Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, hitting him in his upper body and lightly wounding his bodyguard.

They fired at least 10 bullets at the 40-year-old, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly afterwards, reports said.

Abutbul, freed from prison just last year after spending two years behind bars for assaulting his wife, is believed to have succeeded his brother Asi at the head of one of Zionist major criminal gangs in 2009.

He assumed the leadership post when Asi was sentenced to 13 years in jail for his role in leading a "criminal organization."

The Zionist entity has seen competition between rival criminal gangs ramp up in recent years, resulting in increased violence that has prompted police to form a special task force, "Unit 443," to tackle the growing problem.

Abutbul’s father, Felix, was murdered in August 2002 at the entrance to his casino in Prague.

Abutbul was released from prison in December 2010 after serving a sentence for abusing his wife. He was arrested this past January for suspicion of the attempted murder of crime boss Rico Shirazi, but was later released due to lack of evidence.