Man shot dead in a truck in Tira

In footage man seen jumping into victim’s moving car and shooting him; reports cite some 200 murders in Arab society in 2024

Illustrative: Police at the scene of a shooting in the central Arab city of Tira, August 21, 2023. (Israel Police)
Illustrative: Police at the scene of a shooting in the central Arab city of Tira, August 21, 2023. (Israel Police)

A man was shot and killed Wednesday in the central city of Tira, according to police, amid an ongoing wave of violent crime in Arab Israeli society.

The victim was named by the Ynet news site as Shadi Nasser. Police said he was in his 40s.

Some 200 Arab Israelis have been killed in criminal incidents this year, according to Hebrew media reports.

In footage of the killing on social media, a man was seen jumping onto Nasser’s moving vehicle, holding onto the passenger door, and then shooting him and fleeing the scene.

Police said they were notified that a resident had been found shot in a truck at the entrance to the city, and medical officials took him  in critical condition to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where he was pronounced dead.

The police statement added that an investigation into the incident had begun, including scanning the crime scene, collecting evidence and reviewing intelligence on the city’s gang activity and conflicts.

Violent crime has been on the rise in Israel’s Arab community. The year 2023 was the deadliest on recent for Arab Israeli society, with 244 killed, according to the Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence and anti-violence watchdog.

Many Arab Israeli community leaders put the blame for the wave of murders on 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.

Leaders say their communities have also suffered from years of neglect by state authorities.

In September, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir boycotted a meeting called by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss tackling burgeoning crime in Arab Israeli society, and instructed top police brass to do the same.

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