Man shot dead in southern Bedouin town
Victim hit at close range after dropping wife outside post office in Tel as-Sabi, marking 58th slaying in Arab community this year
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A man was shot dead in the southern Bedouin town of Tel as-Sabi Monday, the second fatal shooting of the day.
The victim, identified in Hebrew media as Ibrahim al-Assam, 31, was found in his car with gunshot wounds, Israel Police said in a statement.
An initial investigation found that Assam, a Tel as-Sabi local, had dropped off his wife at a post office when a gunman appeared and shot him a close range.
Medics declared the victim dead at the scene.
Later, a burning car was found in the area that is suspected of being used in the shooting, Ynet reported. No motive or suspects have been announced.
Investigators are reportedly looking into the possibility of the shooting having been a revenge slaying regarding an interclan dispute, noting that Assam was a member of one of the largest families in the community, Channel 12 news reported.
קורבן הרצח ה-58 בחברה הערבית מתחילת השנה | אברהים עיד אל-אעסם (30), נשוי ואב לפעוטה, נורה למוות היום סמוך לנקודת המשטרה בישוב תל שבע. ע"פ מקורות בישוב, הרקע הוא נקמת דם! pic.twitter.com/T44oOeE2o5
— Yasser Okbi (@OkbiYasser) April 24, 2023
Arab communities have suffered a wave of deadly violence in recent years, largely wrought by a influx of organized crime. Many accuse the police of failing to take on powerful underworld organizations and largely ignoring the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars, and violence against women.
According to the anti-violence campaign group, The Abraham Initiatives, 58 members of the Arab community have been killed in violent incidents since the start of the year, including Assam. The watchdog says 54 of them were killed in shootings.
Earlier Monday, gunmen burst into an apartment in Rishon Lezion and shot dead a man before escaping. The victim was identified in Hebrew media as Baruch Borkov.
According to a Channel 12 report, Borkov was under the wing of the organized crime boss Eran Haya and the brothers Shaun and Dean Kasnetini.
A gag order has been placed on many details of the Rishon Lezion case.
The Times of Israel Community.