11 arrested over deadly shooting of 17-year-old in northern Arab town

Police said Tuesday that 11 suspects were arrested overnight on suspicion of involvement in the deadly shooting the night before of a teenage boy in the northern coastal Arab town of Jisr az-Zarqa.

All of the suspects are residents of the town, where Jalal Amash, 17, was fatally shot at a grocery store.

Police said in a statement that an initial investigation found the shooting was related to an ongoing dispute between two local families that has previously led to a number of shootings, as well as arrests of suspects and the confiscation of weapons.

According to Hebrew media reports, past incidents have included gunfire at homes in the town.

Police said that they will ask to extend the remand of suspects as necessary, in accordance with developments in the investigation.

Coastal District Commander Yoram Sofer called it a “despicable murder.”

Jalal Amash, shot dead in Jisr az-Zarqa on October 10, 2022. (Social media; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Amash was shot Monday by an assailant while at a grocery store in the town, located north of Netanya. According to Hebrew media reports, the store is owned by his uncle.

Amash was rushed to Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in serious condition and later died of his injuries.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, which tracks violence in the Arab community, 88 Arabs have been killed in crime-related incidents in Israel since the beginning of the year.

Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years amid a rise in organized crime and the proliferation of illegal weapons.

On Sunday, a woman was shot dead in the southern Bedouin city of Lakiya. Zinab Alsaana, 45, was rushed to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba in critical condition after being shot twice in her legs.

She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to initial reports carried by Hebrew-language media, Alsaana was shot while in her car alongside her son, who was thought to have been the target of an assassination attempt due to an ongoing feud.