The victim, a 21-year-old male, was shot and killed on Route 85 in northern Israel near the Arab community of Majd al-Khrum. The victim was from the nearby Arab community of Jadeidi-Makr.

Police said the shooting was criminal in nature.

Part of the road was closed to traffic and motorists were instructed to take alternate routes as investigators examined the scene.

Meanwhile, police also announced on Thursday the arrest a man in the Arab town of Kfar Qasim for trying to murder his mother.

Police began investigating after being notified by the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva that they were treating a woman in serious condition with stab wounds.

A preliminary investigation found the woman had been stabbed in her home.

Police arrested her 19-year-old son.

According to the Abraham Initiative, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 157 Israeli-Arabs have been killed in violent criminal incidents in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli-Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The 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, and trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.

Image - Israel Police