Man shot dead in Herzliya, another in Rahat, in third killing in town in a week

A man was shot dead on Thursday in the coastal city of Herzliya, and another was killed in the southern Bedouin town of Rahat, as a relentless series of killings raised the death toll in the Arab community to 78 since the start of the year.

The Israel Police said both shootings were tied to violent crime rather than being terror-related.

The deadly violence began in Rahat, where Abdullah Albahiri, 27, was shot and critically injured.

Police said Magen David Adom paramedics arrived and took Albahiri to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he died shortly afterwards.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that the killing was part of a clan feud, and cited police as saying the victim was known to the force and had previously spent time in prison on more than one occasion.

It was the third fatal shooting in Rahat this week.

Hours later, police said they received reports of a shooting at De Shalit Square in Herzliya, where a man was killed and a minor suffered moderate injuries, both residents of the northern Arab city of Baqa Al-Gharbiya.

Odai Abu Moch, 32, was declared dead at the scene, reportedly at his place of work. According to MDA, a 17-year-old was injured and taken to hospital.

The anti-violence watchdog, the Abraham Initiatives, which named both slain men, said that since the beginning of the year, 78 members of the Arab Israeli community have been killed in deadly violence. Another two people with residency permits have also been killed.

On Wednesday, Odai Ayat, 30, was shot in Baqa Al-Gharbiya and died as medics were taking him to the hospital. Police said the shooting was related to crime feuds. The Ynet outlet reported Thursday that the Herzliya shooting was suspected as revenge for Ayat’s death.

On Sunday, two men were shot dead within hours in Rahat. Ibrahim Abu Zayid al-Turi, 54, was killed, and then hours later, 44-year-old Ahmad Abu Ghanem was found dead, apparently shot in revenge for the slaying of Turi.

Hebrew media reports said those killings were tied to warring crime clans in the central city of Lod.

Many in Israel accuse National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of letting crime fester in Arab society and claim the far-right politician’s oversight of police has led to worsening neglect of Arab towns by law enforcement.

The minister took office toward the end of 2022. In 2023, his first full year in office, homicides in Arab society soared to over 240 — more than double the toll in 2022, which at the time had been the bloodiest year on record.

Under Ben Gvir’s 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 home.