2 shot dead in separate incidents, bringing 2023 toll among Arab Israelis to 171

18-year-old killed in northern town, 29-year-old gunned down in Ramle, after double homicide earlier in the day

Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel

Illustrative: The Ramle police station in an undated photo published by Israel Police on July 3, 2022. (Israel Police)
Illustrative: The Ramle police station in an undated photo published by Israel Police on July 3, 2022. (Israel Police)

Two men were killed in separate shootings hours apart in the north and center of the country Wednesday, bringing the day’s toll to four, as a wave of crime in the Arab community showed no signs of abating.

Paramedics arrived at the scene of a shooting in the town of Fureidis to find an 18-year-old man seriously injured, according to a Magen David Adom ambulance service statement.

The medics treated him and then took him to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, where doctors declared him dead.

Police opened an investigation into the incident.

Earlier Wednesday, paramedics were called to a shooting in Ramle, where they found a 29-year-old man in critical condition and began efforts to resuscitate him, according to MDA.

Beside him were a 40-year-old and a 25-year-old with serious wounds.

The three were taken to Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Ya’akov, where the 29-year-old was declared dead.

Police opened an investigation into the case. According to preliminary findings, the shooting was part of a feud between the al-Shamali and Jarushi crime families.

Ambulances in an olive grove in Abu Snan on September 6, 2023. (Magen David Adom)

The two homicides came hours after two Arab men were found shot dead in an olive grove in the northern town of Abu Snan Wednesday morning.

The killings are part of a violent crime wave that has engulfed the Arab community in recent years. Many community leaders blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence. They also point to decades of neglect and discrimination by government offices as the root cause of the problem.

Wednesday’s incidents brought the toll of slayings in the Arab community this year to 171, according to the Abraham Initiatives anti-violence advocacy group, with the record-breaking pace of murders showing no sign of slowing. There were 75 murders over the same period last year.

Authorities have blamed burgeoning organized crime and the proliferation of weaponry, while some have pointed to a failure by communities to cooperate with law enforcement to root out criminals.

On Tuesday, the Arab community went on strike as municipal leaders called for the establishment of an emergency committee to fight the relentless crime wave.

The National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities and the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee blamed the Israeli government for the spate of killings in the Arab community and accused it of neglecting Arab Israeli citizens.

The strike saw local authorities, community centers, and businesses shut their doors, and the school day shortened.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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