Israeli Arab homicides continued climbing to record levels as a 19-year-old shot and killed in the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, near Beer Sheva on Saturday.
Two other people were injured and are currently in light and moderate condition.
Three suspects are under arrest. Police officials said the shooting was related to a dispute between two criminals.
Also on Saturday, a woman in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm was hospitalized after being critically wounded by a gunshot. Police are investigating but have made no arrests.
According to the Abraham Initiative, a Jewish-Arab organization which promotes Arab integration into Israel society, 171 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 and more.
The Tazpit Press Service reported on Thursday that the rising crime is fueling a migration of Arabs to Jewish neighborhoods. The phenomenon shows in Haifa, Beer Sheva and various localities in the Galilee.
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.