2nd man murdered in Umm al-Fahm in 24 hours, amid surging Arab death toll
Amro Abu Maklad Jabareen gunned down in a car; another man seriously injured
A man was murdered overnight Tuesday in the northern town of Umm al-Fahm, marking the second homicide in the city in 24 hours and the 102nd murder in the Arab community this year.
Amro Abu Maklad Jabareen, 26, was gunned down in a car and taken to Emek Medical Center in Afula, where staff pronounced him dead. Another man, aged 24, was seriously injured in the incident.
An eyewitness, speaking with the Ynet news site, said: “The gunfire was at the entrance to my home. There were two men in the car. One of them tried to escape and didn’t succeed.”
Police opened an investigation and began searching for suspects.
Jabareen is the third member of his family killed in intracommunal violence. His uncle and cousin were murdered two years ago at a wedding.
Khalil Ja’u, 25, was shot and killed on Tuesday in Umm al-Fahm, which has seen eight murders since the beginning of 2021.
השוטרים ממתינים להרחבת סמכויות החיפוש?! | הנרצח ה-102 בחברה הערבית, ה-2 בתוך 24 שעות מאום אלפחם: עמרו אבו מקלד ג'בארין (26) נורה למוות בשכונת אבו לאחם, צעיר נוסף שהיה ברכב נפצע באורח בינוני. pic.twitter.com/wBr0xlOkVe
— Yasser Okbi (@OkbiYasser) October 20, 2021
With the murder rate showing no signs of slowing, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said Tuesday that “inequality and a disregard for distress” were playing key roles in the crisis of trust between the state and its Arab community.
In a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv, Barlev used as an example the protests and rioting in some Israeli cities during the 11-day flareup of violence between Israel and Gaza terror groups in May.
“Criminal and nationalist elements mingled and took to the streets to undermine public order. They fully exposed the severe crisis of trust that has long existed between Arab citizens of Israel and state institutions — a crisis that has grown and continues to grow against a backdrop of continuing inequality. It is urgent that it be dealt with,” he said.
“The police and the State of Israel have lost their deterrence,” Barlev added.
Since the beginning of 2021, there have been 102 homicides in Arab communities, according to the Abraham Initiatives nonprofit. Some 87 were citizens of Israel, and another 15 were Palestinians, either from East Jerusalem or with Israeli residency.
With over two months left in the year, 2021 is on track to be the bloodiest year for the Arab community since a crime wave began there several years ago.
The murder rate has risen sharply since 2015, when 64 Arab Israelis were killed, in comparison to 38 Jewish Israelis. In 2020, Jewish Israelis saw a similar 42 homicides, while Arab Israelis saw 96 violent deaths, according to Abraham Initiatives.
Government officials blame the violence on powerful organized crime rackets that have emerged following decades of state neglect and lawlessness in Arab cities and towns.
The violence is abetted by a tide of illegal weaponry. Hundreds of thousands of illegal guns are believed to be held in Israel, many of them in Arab communities. Police have sought to crack down on the free-flowing weapons — through gun collection programs and arms raids — but seemingly to little avail.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government has vowed to take exceptional means to end the rising murder rate. In early October, ministers signed off on involving the powerful Shin Bet security agency in the effort, in an unusual and controversial move. The agency, which has powerful legal and technological tools at its disposal, is best known for operating against Palestinian terror suspects.
“We are losing the country,” Bennett said during the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, emphasizing the dire situation among Arab Israelis.
Also on Sunday, the government advanced a controversial proposal that would expand the ability of the Israel Police to conduct searches without court warrants, in a controversial step intended to curb the crime wave.
“We’re at war. We must give the police and law enforcement agencies better tools to succeed in their missions,” Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar told the cabinet, according to his spokesperson.
The Times of Israel Community.