Man seriously hurt in mass brawl in southern Bedouin village

At least two people were injured during a mass brawl in a southern Bedouin village on Friday night.

Video from Abu Queider, which is near the highway between Beersheba and Dimona, showed people using clubs to beat each other.

One man was seriously hurt and another other moderately wounded, according to the Ynet news site.

A large number of police officers were called to the scene.

“The Israel Police is working to impose order in Abu Queider… following a mass brawl within a family,” a police statement said.

It was not clear what prompted the fight.

סמוך לכביש 25 בנגב, וזה קוטה בתוך המשפחה!!!
נגמר ב-2 פצועים קשה. pic.twitter.com/8raxV4e5r9

— almog boker (@bokeralmog) December 17, 2021

Last month, a public brawl at a hospital in Beersheba left four people injured and 19 were arrested. In another incident, also in November, three people were seriously injured when they were stabbed during a brawl in the southern Bedouin city of Rahat.

Arab communities — including in the south — have seen a surge in violence in recent years, driven mainly, but not exclusively, by organized crime.

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.