Man shot dead in central Arab town of Kafr Qara

A man was shot dead Tuesday in the central Arab town of Kafr Qara, police said, amid law enforcement’s ongoing failure to rein in violence in the Arab community.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the man, 41, was shot shortly before 7 a.m. and declared dead by paramedics at the scene.

Police officers were collecting evidence and scanning the area for suspects, police said, adding that the “context of the incident is under investigation.”

The deceased is the 198th homicide victim in the Arab community since the start of 2024, according to a running tally by coexistence watchdog The Abraham Initiatives. At this pace, 2024 will be the bloodiest year on record for the Arab community, surpassing the high set in 2023, when homicides in the community were more than double the previous year, driven by clashes between crime families.

Speaking to The Times of Israel in October, Abraham Initiatives head Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu laid the blame on what he called National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s “racist attitude toward Arab society.”

Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said that Ben Gvir, who assumed his post at the end of 2022, froze key policies of the previous government — of which the Arab party Ra’am was part — to increase policing in the Arab community in coordination with Arab localities.