A 26-year-old man was shot dead in the northern town of Umm al-Fahm on Friday, just hours after two other men were shot dead in nearby Nazareth, as gun violence continues to plague Arab communities throughout the country.
Medics arrived at the scene in Umm al-Fahm to find the latest victim, a resident of Ar’ara, unconscious. They were unable to resuscitate him and forced to declare his death on the spot.
A second man was lightly injured in the shooting and was evacuated to a hospital in nearby Afula. Police later arrived at the scene and began collecting evidence.
Earlier Friday, brothers Ali and Khaled Saadi were shot in the northern city of Nazareth in what police suspected was part of ongoing hostilities between rival criminal groups.
The two men, aged 28 and 31, were seriously wounded in the shooting and brought to the Arab Israeli city’s English Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
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According to Hebrew media reports, the Saadis were shot at close range at the entrance to their home by suspects who identified themselves as police after knocking on the door.
The two were affiliated with the Bakri crime family, which has been feuding with the Harari organization.
הנרצחים בנצרת: האחים עלי וחאלד סעדי. המתנקשים דפקו על דלת ביתם, הזדהו כשוטרים וירו בהם מטווח אפס | לידיעה המלאה >>> https://t.co/EW2VKdGvpZ
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The Abraham Initiatives watchdog, which monitors and campaigns against violence in the Arab community, reported that the latest deaths brought the number of Arabs killed in homicides since the start of the year to 10. Last year, 116 Arab Israelis were killed in violent incidents, 101 of them by gunfire.
Arab communities in Israel have seen a surge in violence in recent years, driven mainly, but not exclusively, by organized crime.
Arab Israelis say police have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and for years largely ignored the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and attacks on women.
