Woman shot, seriously hurt in south; several wounded in two separate brawls

Lakiya shooting victim taken to hospital; 3 wounded after fight next to nightclub in Binyamina, 2 hurt after row in Ashdod overnight

By Michael Horovitz

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23 December 2022, 9:42 am

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Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel

Illustrative: A police car at the scene of a crime. (Israel Police)

A woman was seriously injured after being shot Thursday night in the southern Bedouin town of Lakiya, medics said, as the Arab community faces a spike in violent crime.

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics called to the scene treated the 30-year-old woman on site, then took her to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, the ambulance service said in a statement.

Police said they’d opened an investigation into the incident.

In a separate violent incident on Thursday night, a 24-year-old man was seriously injured, while another 24-year-old and a 17-year-old were moderately hurt during a brawl next to a nightclub in the central town of Binyamina, MDA said in a statement.

Paramedics treated their wounds at the scene and then took them to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, according to the statement.

The background to the incident was unclear.

The entrance to Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, on January 26, 2022. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

In another brawl, a 42-year-old and 46-year-old man were seriously injured in the southern coastal city of Ashdod overnight, according to MDA.

Paramedics said in a statement they treated the men’s wounds at the scene and then took them to Assuta Medical Center.

The background for that incident was also unclear.

The night of violence comes as a spike in deadly shootings rocked the Arab community over the past week.

On Thursday, a man was fatally shot outside the northern town of Kafr Qara, hours after a 23-year-old man was shot dead in Haifa. Police said they believe the Haifa killings to be linked to the recent murder of a father and his 2-year-old son.

On Wednesday evening, a 19-year-old was killed in a shooting in the central town of Jaffa. Police suspected the shooting to be the result of an airsoft gun shot that went wrong, and released the suspect to house arrest on Thursday.

Following the deadly shooting Thursday in Haifa, the Abraham Initiatives watchdog reported that 113 members of the Arab community have been killed in homicides since the start of 2022, including 96 who were shot.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.