Man shot dead in Jaffa Port in suspected crime feud
Muhammad Sgahafi, 26, dies of wounds in hospital; another person moderately hurt; watchdog says violent death toll in Arab community since start of year is 94
A man shot and killed in Jaffa Port on Monday evening may have been targeted as part of a crime feud, Israel Police said.
Hebrew media reports identified the man as Muhammad Sgahafi, 26.
Sgahafi was critically injured by gunfire at around 10 p.m. at the popular entertainment compound.
A 32-year-old who was with him was moderately injured by the gunfire.
The two were taken to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, where doctors later declared Sgahafi dead.
Police said the incident was related to criminal activity.
The Abraham Initiatives anti-violence watchdog said that since the start of the year 94 members of the Arab community have been killed by violence. During the same period last year, there were 77 deaths.
The past few years have seen a massive uptick of violent crime in Arab society, which claimed over 200 lives annually in both 2023 and 2024.
Many community leaders blame law enforcement for the spiraling crime rate, accusing police of neglect as the majority of Arab sector murder cases go unsolved.
The Abraham Initiatives has recorded an unprecedented rise in violent crime in the Arab community in the first two years in office of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose portfolio includes the police.
Ben Gvir’s first year in office, 2023, saw murder rates in the Arab community soar to their highest ever, and roughly double what they had been the previous year. The minister had gutted a program put in place by his predecessor Omer Barlev and Arab municipal leaders to combat crime in the Arab community.
In a belated report earlier this year, Ben Gvir’s office confirmed that homicide in the Arab communities had more than doubled in 2023. His office has yet to release data for 2024.
The Times of Israel Community.