Tira man shot dead in 60th Arab community killing this year; 2 kids seriously hurt
Attack carried out as 3 sat in a car in central Israel town; 10-year-old son shot in legs, 6-year-old nephew hit in chest; separately, man stabbed and seriously wounded in Eilabun
A man was killed and his son and nephew were severely wounded in a shooting in the town of Tira on Friday night.
The killing was the latest incident of deadly violence in the Arab Israeli community that has claimed dozens of lives since the beginning of the year, and was one of several violent incidents on the same night.
Hebrew media identified the fatality as Mohand Araki, 40, also from Tira, an Arab-majority town in central Israel.
According to the Abraham Initiatives organization, a non-government group campaigning against violence in the Arab community, Araki was the 60th victim to die in the Arab community in Israel since the beginning of 2022 in a violence- or crime-related circumstance, most of them in shootings.
Unidentified attackers opened fire on Araki while he was in his car, killing him and severely injuring his 10-year-old son and his 6-year-old nephew.
The nephew was shot in the chest and Araki’s son was hit in the legs.
First responders from the Magen David Adom emergency group rushed the two children to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba.
Police were searching the area for the perpetrators and evidence.
In a separate incident in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning, a 32-year-old was severely wounded in the Arab-majority town of Eilabun in the north. Early reports said he had been stabbed and was being treated at a hospital in Tiberias.
In a third incident at around the same time, six people were injured in a brawl in the Arab-majority town of Zarzir in the north. Two men in their 50s were severely wounded and rushed to Rambam hospital in Haifa, and a man in his 20s was moderately hurt. The others were lightly injured.
In another recent killing, on Thursday morning, a man was shot dead in the southern Bedouin city of Rahat.
Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years.
Many blame the 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.
