
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 5 (ANI/TPS): The wave of deadly violence in Israel’s Arab communities continues, with two people killed in separate incidents over the weekend, raising the total number of Arab sector homicides in 2025 to 192.
Early Sunday, a 50-year-old man from the northern village of Deir al-Assad was shot while sitting in his car, Israeli police reported. He was taken to the Galilee Medical Center in critical condition but was pronounced dead upon arrival. The victim’s identity has not been released.
In Rahat, a Bedouin city in southern Israel, authorities arrested three suspects in connection with a fatal shooting on Saturday night. The attack appears to have been retaliatory, stemming from a knife fight between two men and reigniting a long-standing blood feud between rival families. Paramedics transported two men injured in the shooting to the hospital. One, 21-year-old Adam al-Oubarah, died that night, while the other, 29, remains critically wounded.
Police said the incident involved shooting and an attempt at blood revenge. During raids on the families’ residences, officers seized military-grade weapons, including assault rifles and handguns reportedly stolen from IDF bases.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit promoting Arab integration into Israeli society, 192 Arab-Israelis have been murdered so far in 2025. The spike follows a pattern of violence in the Arab sector, which saw 230 murders in 2024 and a record 244 in 2023, more than double the 120 homicides reported in 2022.
Authorities attribute the surge to organised crime groups battling for turf and eliminating rivals. These criminal networks are reportedly involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs, and women. Critics argue the crime wave has intensified since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir became National Security Minister in 2022. (ANI/TPS)