Man shot dead in northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm

The Israel Police said Tuesday that a man was fatally shot in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, the latest killing in a wave that has seen the homicide rate double so far this year.

A woman was also lightly injured in the shooting, police said in a statement.

Medical teams declared the man, a 50-year-old resident of the Haifa district town, dead at the scene. The woman was taken for further medical attention.

Police said forensic teams were combing the scene for clues and evidence.

The shooting brought to 85 the number of Arabs killed in violent crime since the beginning of the year, of whom 74 were shot, according to the anti-violence Abraham Initiatives monitoring group.

Since the beginning of the year there have been over 90 killings nationwide, more than twice the number in the same period for 2022. Police minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right lawmaker who campaigned on promises to beef up public safety, has largely stayed quiet on the soaring crimewave.

On Monday the opposition parties summoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a special debate on the country’s homicide rate. Addressing the plenum, Netanyahu issued a public invitation to Arab MKs to meet with him on the deadly violence in their community. According to a Channel 12 report, Arab lawmakers are insistent that Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, not be at the meeting.