Man shot dead near Wadi Ara as wave of deadly crime continues
Resident of Ma’ale Iron rushed to hospital in critical condition, but doctors unable to save him; shooting comes hours after crime world figure dies in car explosion
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A man was shot dead Tuesday morning close to Wadi Ara in the north amid a spate of violence in the Arab community that has claimed the lives of dozens since the beginning of the year.
The Israel Police said the man, 31, a resident of the Arab town of Ma’ale Iron, was shot dead on Route 65.
Magen David Adom emergency service medics took the man in critical condition to the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, where doctors declared him dead.
Police opened an investigation into the incident and forensic teams arrived to comb the scene of the shooting.
The man was not immediately identified by police or in Hebrew media reports.
According to the anti-violence lobby group The Abraham Initiatives, his death brings to 65 the number of Arabs killed in violent crime since the start of the year.
Hours earlier, a car exploded in the northern town of Kiryat Bialik, killing a 23-year-old in a suspected homicide.
The fatality was not immediately identified but is reportedly known to police, who were investigating the incident as a suspected assassination carried out by a rival crime family.
MDA said its medics arrived at the scene while the victim’s car was still on fire. The man was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, but doctors were unable to resuscitate him and were forced to declare his death shortly after his arrival.
Police were investigating whether there was a connection between the Kiryat Bialik explosion and another apparent assassination attempt earlier in the day in the nearby town of Tirat Carmel.
The number of homicides committed in the first four months of the year was more than twice that of the same period last year — a sharp jump under National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who came into office in December and ran on a platform of improving citizens’ personal security.
Through the month of April, there were 78 homicides this year, compared to 34 in 2022, according to a tally by Haaretz.
The sharp jump in killings has taken place in both the Jewish and Arab communities, although the violence has been far more severe in the Arab community.
The Times of Israel Community.