Son of former Israeli ambassador found decapitated in north

Police say they have discovered the decapitated head of a man in the northern Druze town of Maghar.

The victim is identified as Rabia Araidi, 43, the son of the late Druze author and scholar Naim Araidi who also served as Israel’s ambassador to Norway in 2012-2014.

Police say they are investigating what they called a particularly gruesome murder.

The killing takes the number of Arab victims of violent crime this year to 93.

Law enforcement have been unable to stem the tide of violence in the Arab community, in what State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman has said is a “resounding failure” by authorities.

The Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence advocacy group, has pinned the blame on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for having gutted a program put in place by the previous government to reverse the worrying trend.

In its 2023 year-end report — which found that year to have been the bloodiest on record for Arab citizens of Israel — the Abraham Initiatives found that a plurality of the 244 homicides had happened in the north, which the group attributed to turf wars among rival gangs.