Four Israeli-Arabs were murdered amid a 24-hour surge of Arab sector violence on Monday and Tuesday while a Jewish man was killed in a separate attack that police believe was related to organized crime.
Paramedics in Lod found 32-year-old Abdallah Ali al-Wahwah with gunshot wounds on Tuesday. He was evacuated for hospitalization but declared dead on arrival.
Also on Tuesday, Refaat al-Bahri, a 56-year-old businessman was killed on Tuesday morning when a bomb blew up as he was opening up his supermarket in the Arab village of Taybeh. Two of his employees were injured in the blast.
On Monday, also in Lod, a man identified as Ayoub al-Touri was killed in a shooting. Police said the murder was related to a dispute between two families.
Also on Monday, Salem Qasoum was found shot dead near the northern Arab town of I’billin. Qasoum was 56.
Separately, on Monday night, a 35-year-old man identified as Tal Speizman, who was Jewish, was found dead in Tel Aviv with gunshot wounds. A second victim found unconscious at the scene was evacuated for hospitalization. The incident is widely believed to be related to organized crime.
Police opened investigations into the five murders but have made no arrests.
According to the Abraham Initiative, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 38 Israeli-Arabs have been killed in violent crimes in 2025.
The spike is a continuation of 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 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.
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