Two killed amid surge in Israeli-Arab violence

TEL AVIV: The wave of deadly violence in Israel’s Arab communities shows no sign of slowing, as two people were killed in separate incidents during the weekend, bringing the number of Arab sector homicides in 2025 to 192.

Early Sunday morning, a 50-year-old man from the northern Israeli village of Deir al-Assad was shot and killed while sitting in his car, Israeli police reported. The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to the Galilee Medical Center in critical condition but was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Meanwhile, in Rahat, a Bedouin city in southern Israel, authorities arrested three suspects in connection with a fatal shooting on Saturday night, which appears to have been a retaliatory attack stemming from a knife fight between two men. Police said the incident reignited a long-standing blood feud between rival families.

The suspects reportedly arrived at the home of a rival family and opened fire, seriously injuring two men. Paramedics transported both victims to the hospital. One, 21-year-old Adam al-Oubarah, succumbed to his injuries that same night, while a 29-year-old man was also critically wounded.

“This was a violent incident between conflicting families in the city, which included shooting and an attempt at blood revenge,” police said.

During raids on the families’ residences, officers seized military-grade weaponry, including assault rifles and handguns believed to have been stolen from IDF bases in the area.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organisation that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 192 Arab-Israelis have been murdered in 2025.

The spike continues a pattern of violence in the Arab sector, which saw 230 murders in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The surge in violence is attributed to organised crime groups fighting turf battles and attempting to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organisations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs, and women.

Critics argue the crime wave has worsened since Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became National Security Minister in 2022. (ANI/TPS)