Man shot dead in central Israel town amid crime wave plaguing Arab community
Victim, a landscaper in his 30s, killed in reported ambush that police say may be related to blood feud; marks 68th homicide in Arab society this year
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A man was shot and killed in his car Monday morning in central Israel as the homicide rate in Arab society continues to climb.
Paramedics responding to the scene in the town of Tira found the victim in his vehicle with gunshot wounds and showing no signs of life, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Abraham Initiatives monitor named the victim as Majadi Nasser, a man in his 30s.
Police said in a statement that the killing may have been a revenge attack related to an ongoing feud. No arrests were announced, but police said they were searching for suspects.
The victim, who worked in landscaping, had been on his way to work when he was ambushed, according to Arabic-language Nas Radio. The report claimed that the gunmen had been lying in wait for him outside his house, then shot him at close range once he got into his car.
There have been 68 Arab homicide victims since the start of 2026 — a rate of nearly one per day and about 26 more killings than there were during the same period last year, according to the Abraham Initiatives, an organization that tracks violence in the Arab community.
The high death toll follows the minority’s bloodiest year to date, which saw 252 violent killings over the course of 2025.
This is the eighth homicide to occur since the beginning of the Iran war on February 28.
On Sunday, a Palestinian from Kafr Aqab in East Jerusalem was shot and killed in Nazareth.
Many in Israel accuse National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of failing to address crime in Arab society and allowing it to fester, claiming the far-right politician’s oversight of police has led to worsening neglect of Arab towns by law enforcement.
Under his guidance, critics charge, police have done little to deal with the stranglehold organized crime has put on Arab towns, instead prioritizing fighting terrorism or lawlessness that spills into Jewish areas. Community members say gangland activity has driven an influx of gun violence, worsening existing blood feuds between families.
The violence has cast a pall across the community, with innocent passersby regularly caught in the middle of deadly shootings. In many Arab towns, shop owners now close by sundown and parents say they are afraid to let their children leave the house.
The Times of Israel Community.