Man shot and killed in northern Arab town as deadly crime keeps surging
Wael Saeida, 21, killed outside bakery in Shibli-Umm al-Ghanem, northern Galilee; Herzog tells Israeli Muslim leaders that crime wave has led to ‘state of emergency’
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A man was shot and killed in northern Israel on Monday evening, amid an unflagging crime wave in Arab communities, a phenomenon that President Isaac Herzog called an “emergency.”
The victim, identified in Hebrew media as Wael Khalili, 21, was shot outside a bakery in Shibli-Umm al-Ghanem, an Arab town in the lower Galilee.
According to reports, Khalili was out shopping at the time, and was not the intended target of the shooting.
After being called to the scene, paramedics tried to resuscitate him while rushing him to a nearby hospital, but he soon succumbed to his wounds.
Police at the scene of the shooting said they launched an investigation into the killing and were searching for suspects.
Saeida is the 56th member of the Arab minority in Israel to be killed so far in 2026. The soaring death toll follows the deadliest year on record for Arab Israelis, in which 252 were killed in criminal incidents.
If homicides continue at their current pace, 2026 stands to be much deadlier for Israel’s Arab minority than the preceding year.
ضحية جريمة القتل في أم الغنم، الشاب وائل يوسف كحيلي (طحيمر) وبلغ من العمر 21 عاما.
للتفاصيل: https://t.co/lyet4j9ELo pic.twitter.com/8gXMjItSE7
— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) February 23, 2026
Herzog: Israel in ‘state of emergency’
Meanwhile, President Herzog hosted an iftar dinner at his residence, where he declared that Israel is “in a state of emergency,” amid near-daily deadly violence in Arab communities.
“It is simply impossible to accept the current reality, with the violence and crime in the Arab society,” he told Muslim community leaders, clergymen, educators, academics, IDF officers, and security personnel.
Herzog called the violence “a security threat of the first rate,” and urged the country to use “all the tools at its disposal” to combat the phenomenon.
Local politicians and religious figures have denounced the crime sweeping their communities, but most place blame on law enforcement, accusing police of neglecting to solve homicides when the victims are Arab.
The spiraling homicide rate, which is largely fueled by mafia-style organized crime, has recently been the focus of escalating protests. A major target of popular ire has been National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, with Arab Israelis insisting the far-right politician’s oversight of police has led to worsening neglect of Arab towns by law enforcement.
The Times of Israel Community.