Two Arab-Israelis murdered as wave of homicides continues

Tel Aviv [Israel], August 20 (ANI/TPS): Two Arab-Israelis were killed on Saturday in separate incidents as a wave of homicides in the Arab sector continued.
In the first incident, a 30 year-old man was shot and killed in the Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye in northern Israel. He was declared dead at the scene by medics from Magen David Adom. A second victim who was shot in the back is being treated at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
Based on initial investigation, police believe the shooting was related to a criminal dispute.
Later on Saturday, a man in his 30s was shot in the Arab village of Dhamesh, in central Israel. The victim was evacuated to the Shamir Medical Center in Beer Yaakov, where doctors declared him dead. The man’s mother was lightly injured in the shooting.
Police said the circumstances of the shooting are not yet clear.
According to the Abraham Initiative, a Jewish-Arab organization which promotes Arab integration into Israel society, 150 Arab Israelis have been killed in criminal violence since the beginning of 2023.
This year’s spike in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.
Local leaders have called on the government to take action.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports giving the Shin Bet security agency a more active role in fighting the rising crime, but this suggestion is opposed by Arab leaders and Shin Bet officials. (ANI/TPS)