Man shot dead, three others injured in brawl in southern Bedouin community
Police say investigation points to underworld dispute, as violent crime wave continues; in separate case, apparent suicide by woman probed as suspected murder
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A man in his 20s was shot dead in the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom in the south’s Negev desert Tuesday.
Three other men were moderately injured in the shooting that reportedly came during a brawl.
Police opened a probe and said an initial investigation indicated it was a dispute between criminal groups.
The men were shot at a cafe, the Ynet website reported.
They were taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba where doctors declared one of them dead.
The incident came as authorities struggle to stop a wave of violent crime in Israel’s Arab community that included four homicides in the space of 48 hours over the weekend.
A 60-year-old Arab man was fatally wounded in a shooting that also injured a woman and a child in the central Israeli city of Lod late Saturday night. On Friday, two men were shot dead in two separate incidents, and a man in his 30s was killed in a shooting on Thursday night.
Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years. Many blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars, and violence against women.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-government group campaigning against violence in the Arab community, since the beginning of 2022 over 50 Arabs and Palestinians have been killed in violence or crime-related circumstances in Israel, mostly in shooting incidents.
Also Tuesday, Channel 12 reported that police were investigating an apparent suicide two days ago in a Bedouin community near Tel Arad as a suspected murder.
A woman, 22, was found Sunday hanged in her home. Police probing the incident took testimony from the woman’s husband and other family members, but found that their version of events did not match the forensic evidence, a police source told the station.
According to the report, the husband had in the past assaulted his wife and a few days before her death had left her. The man was placed under arrest and his remand extended by three days. His parents were also initially arrested but then released to house arrest as the investigation continues.
The Times of Israel Community.