Bedouin teen shot dead in suspected feud in south

An 18-year-old from a southern Bedouin town was fatally shot near Beersheba on Saturday night, the latest apparent homicide in the Arab community amid government efforts to crack down on violent crime.

The victim — identified as Nabil Abu Amar from the town of Lakiya — was shot at a bridge near Lehavim Junction, north of Beersheba.

Police said he was transported to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center independently, and not by medics. The hospital said the young man arrived at the medical center with no vital signs, and doctors immediately pronounced his death.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, the shooting was apparently related to a local feud.

No arrests were immediately made.

Separately, police detained two men who were apparently involved in an armed brawl in the Bedouin city of Rahat.

Officers rushed to the scene on Saturday after residents reported sounds of gunfire amid the brawl, police said.

In another incident, MDA said late Saturday night that paramedics had picked up man in the Bedouin city who had been injured in a “violent incident.” The 23-year-old was in serious condition, not completely conscious and was evacuated to Soroka hospital.

According to the Abraham Initiative nonprofit, the shooting at Lehavim Junction was the 119th homicide in the Arab community this year, an all-time record. Of those killed, 100 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.” He has vowed to crack down on the phenomenon.