Two young men found shot dead in car in Arab town of Tira

Two young men were shot dead in the town of Tira in central Israel Thursday night, the latest case of deadly violence in the Arab community.

Police received a report that the two, in their twenties, were shot while sitting inside a car in the town. They were rushed to Kfar Saba’s Meir Medical Center in critical condition and were declared dead by doctors.

Police launched an investigation and officers were searching the area for the culprits.

Nearly 100 Arab civilians have been killed in homicides in Israel since the start of the calendar year. Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years, amid a rise in organized crime and the proliferation of illegal weapons.

Earlier this month a 30-year-old man was shot dead and several were injured in shootings in the nearby town of Taybeh.

Thursday’s shooting also came a day after a resident of Holon allegedly stabbed and killed another man during a traffic altercation. A moped driver is suspected of stabbing and killing Yuri Volkov after cutting off Volkov and his wife Lena as they attempted to cross the road, then demanding that Lena erase a photo she’d taken of him on her phone.

Police on Thursday said the suspect, 22, had been arrested.