Teenage boy killed during fight in southern town; another person lightly injured; hours earlier in apparently unconnected incident, man critically wounded in Haifa shooting
A 14-year-old boy was shot dead in the southern town of Rahat, police said Saturday morning.
Police said emergency services pronounced the boy’s death on the scene in the southern Bedouin town.
According to police, the teen was shot during a fight — another individual was lightly injured and hospitalized for treatment.
The boy was not immediately publicly named.
According to the anti-violence campaign group The Abraham Initiatives, 47 members of the Arab community have been killed in violent incidents since the start of the year. The watchdog said 45 of them were killed by gunfire
A few hours prior to the Rahat killing, in an apparently unconnected incident, a 39-year-old man from Shfaram was critically wounded while sitting in his car in the northern city of Haifa. According to the Ynet news site, the man was known to the police.
On Friday, a man was shot to death in Lod, hours after seven people were wounded by gunfire in the central city in a separate incident.
Hamza Abu Ghanem, 25, was shot outside his home after returning from morning prayers at a mosque, police found in a preliminary investigation.
A relative of Abu Ghanem told the Ynet news site he was an “honest person and we never heard of him being in feuds with anyone.” The relative initially thought police and medics had wrongfully identified the body.
Police said that the incident was not connected to the shooting on Thursday evening in Lod.
In that incident, an 8-year-old boy was among seven people injured by gunfire and remained hospitalized at Shamir Medical Center in a serious condition on Friday morning, according to a statement from the hospital.
Five others were in mild condition at the facility, while a 7-year-old boy was released following treatment, according to the statement.
According to a preliminary investigation, police said a man opened fire at the group of young people who were standing outside a residential compound. There was no immediate announcement of arrests.
The Walla news site identified the building as belonging to a local crime family.
“Another terrifying and crazy night for the Arab community. Rampant crime, serious injuries and bullets piercing the bodies of children,” tweeted Ra’am MK Waleed Alhwashla.
“In an enlightened country, those responsible today would draw conclusions” and resign, he added.
Arab communities have seen a wave of violence in recent years. Many blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.
Source: TOI