2 men stabbed, seriously injured in northern Druze town of Maghar

Two men were seriously injured in the northern Druze-majority town of Maghar on Saturday, the latest incident in the Arab community amid government efforts to crack down on violent crime.

The men, aged 27 and 25, were taken to the Baruch Padeh Medical Center for treatment for “penetrating injuries,” according to Hebrew-language media reports.

The Ynet news site said the two men were stabbed.

There was no comment from police on the incident.

The stabbings came a day after a man was fatally shot Friday in the northern town of Nahf, the 118th homicide in the Arab community this year. The shooting victim was found with gunshot wounds in his car.

He was identified as Bassem Lutfi Sarhan, 38, a resident of Nahf. A law enforcement official said the shooting was apparently related to a criminal underworld dispute.

According to the Abraham Initiative nonprofit, the shooting in Nahf was the 118th homicide in the Arab community this year, by far an all-time record. Of those killed, 99 were Arab citizens of Israel and 19 were Palestinians, either from East Jerusalem or with Israeli residency.

Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years, driven mainly, but not exclusively, by organized crime.

Arab Israelis blame police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.

The community has also suffered from decades of neglect.

In August, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that violence and crime in Arab Israeli communities was a “national calamity.”

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.