Police chief says murders in Bedouin town ‘crossed a line’ as victims named

Visiting the scene of a quintuple murder in the northern Bedouin town of Basmat Tab’un, Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai vows to devote all possible police resources to catching those responsible.

“A red line has been crossed,” he says after the 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th and 188th murders in the Arab community this year. “Whoever carried out these murders are terrorists, in my view, this is a terror attack.”

The five victims, all members of the same extended family, are named in the press as brothers Walid and Mohammed Daleyka, aged 14 and 17, Rabia Daleyka, in his 20s, Zayneb Daleyka, in her 40s and her son Mohammed Hasan Daleyka, 25.

“They were good people, they didn’t have beefs with anyone, no problems, no nothing,” a neighbor tells the Haaretz news outlet.