19-year-old killed in Hura hit-and-run; police investigating if it was deliberate

A 19-year-old was killed Friday evening in a hit-and-run in the southern town of Hura that police were investigating as potentially deliberate.

The victim, named as Muhammed Abu al-Qian, was taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he was pronounced dead.

A relative of Abu al-Qian was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a violent incident and running over the victim, while two others were detained on suspicion of obstructing the investigation, police said Saturday morning.

The Ynet news site said the main suspect was a close relative of the victim.

According to reports, police were investigating whether the young man was deliberately run over.

The Abraham Initiatives anti-violence advocacy group said Abu al-Qian’s death, if deliberate, would bring to 178 the number of Arabs killed in violent circumstances in Israel since the start of the year.