The police have opened an investigation following a shooting incident in the Israeli-Arab city of Barta’a. Police identified the victim as a resident of the nearby Israeli-Arab town of Kafr Qara in his 30s.

“The injured man was lying unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing, with penetrating injuries to his body,” said Magen David Adom paramedic Yaska Ben-Nun. “His injury was critical and we were forced to declare him dead at the scene.”

On Tuesday night, a 50-year-old woman was shot and killed in Lod. The victim, found in her car outside her home was identified of Sahar Abu Hajjaj.

Several suspects have been arrested but police did not indicate a possible motive.

The spike is a continuation of 230 murders in 2024 documented by the Abraham Initiative, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society. 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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