Police officers fatally shoot Arab Israeli man, say he posed threat to their lives
Cops say armed man opened fire at a house in northern village of Ibtin; police internal investigations unit checking circumstances of shooting
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Police shot and killed an Arab Israeli man overnight Thursday in Ibtin, after he allegedly opened fire at a house in the northern Bedouin town.
In a statement, police said that its forces “neutralized an armed suspect who shot towards a house in Ibtin.” The officers, from the Zevulun police station, were taking part in an anti-crime operation in the town at the time.
Medics declared him dead at the scene, Magen David Adom said.
The deceased, a 29-year-old man named as Sham Shami, was from the coastal city of Acre and lived with his mother at his uncle’s house in Ibtin, Ynet reported.
The man’s relative, Aref Naarani, rejected the police’s version, telling the Hebrew outlet that officers in an undercover vehicle ran into Shami on his motor scooter, got out of the vehicle then shot him point-blank.
The Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), a State Attorney’s Office body that probes police suspected of criminal offenses, told The Times of Israel that it is checking the circumstances of the incident, but has not yet launched a formal investigation.
Shami is the second Arab citizen to be killed by police within a week, after an officer shot and killed 36-year-old Muhammad Hussein Tarabin close to midnight Saturday, during a search of his home in the southern Bedouin village of Tarabin al-Sana.
In Tarabin’s case, the DIPI swiftly launched an investigation into the officer and several others involved the morning after the shooting. The identity of the officer is currently barred from publication under a gag order.
Shami was killed by police hours after Sharif Hadid, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, was shot dead Thursday evening by an off-duty soldier while traveling in northern Israel. The shooting took place following a heated dispute over Hadid’s driving, according to Channel 12 News.
With Shami’s death, a total of 14 Arab citizens have lost their lives in crime-related incidents since the start of 2026.
Arab society experienced its deadliest year on record in 2025, with a total of 252 citizens killed in violent criminal incidents, according to the Abraham Initiatives organization, which tracks Arab homicide victims.
The Times of Israel Community.