Two men shot dead within hours as wave of homicides continues
Walid Natur killed while sitting in car, reportedly on way to mosque in Qalansawe; Yevgeny Stepanov gunned down in broad daylight on street in Haifa
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Two men were shot dead within hours Thursday, the Israel Police said, amid a wave of homicides believed is linked to warring crime groups.
A man was killed early in the morning in the central district Arab city of Qalansawe. The man, identified as Walid Natur, 55, was shot as he sat in his car.
First responders who were called to the scene were unable to save Natur and declared him dead.
Natur, a resident of the city, was reportedly on his way to prayers at a local mosque.
Later in the morning police said a resident of Kiryat Yam, 38, was shot in Haifa.
Medics alerted of the shooting found the man lying on the sidewalk on Moriah Avenue in critical condition and took him to the hospital, where he was later declared dead.
He was identified in Hebrew media as Yevgeny Stepanov, a figure known to police.
הרוג באירוע ירי בשדרות מוריה בחיפה ◄ וידאו • מאת: נירית קופל-וונדרמן • קישור לכתבה:https://t.co/zIgLifhRzz pic.twitter.com/1giR2asJhJ
— חי פֹֹּה – תאגיד החדשות של חיפה והסביבה (@haipo_co_il) July 6, 2023
Police said they were searching for a motorcycle that was spotted leaving the scene just after the shooting. The incident was apparently also tied to crime groups, police said.
Natur’s shooting marked the third day in a row of deadly shootings in the Arab community, after a killing in the northern town of Arraba on Tuesday and then another in the Druze town of Yarka, also in the north.
Thursday’s slaying in Qalansawe was the 115th violent killing in the Arab community this year, according to the Abraham Initiatives organization, which keeps a running tally of the murders. The figure for all of 2022 was 115.
The Arab community in Israel has seen near-constant violence in recent months, surpassing years of heightened criminal bloodshed.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, some 75 percent of murders in the Arab community emanate from organized crime, while the rest are attributable to blood feuds, femicides involving family members, and other criminal activity.
At this time last year, there had been 50 slayings in the community. In 2021, the deadliest year on record for the community, 126 people in the community were killed in violent circumstances, according to the Abraham Initiatives. The police cite slightly lower numbers.
Last week, a father and son were killed in Shfaram, the same day that three other people were killed in shooting incidents in Shfaram, Kafr Kanna and Rahat.
Authorities have not stopped the bloodletting despite promising more resources, including more police and funds to deal with societal issues underpinning the crime wave.
Many community leaders blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence.
The Times of Israel Community.