A 30-year-old man was shot dead in broad daylight in the central city of Lod on Friday, the latest fatality in an unrelenting wave of violent crime in Israel’s Arab community.
The man, killed in front of a community police station, was identified by Hebrew media as Rajab Abu Hamad. It was not immediately clear where he was from.
Police said they were probing the background to the incident and had opened an investigation.
Paramedics who arrived on the scene said they found the victim unconscious and suffering from a penetrating wound. They attempted to resuscitate Abu Hamad while taking him to Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center in critical condition, but doctors were forced to declare him dead shortly after arrival.
Police at the scene searched the area for suspects, but no arrests were immediately made.
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In a similar incident, Fathi Shain, a 33-year-old man from Tamra, was shot dead in the northern town of Zarzir on Thursday night.
Illustrative: Police in Lod following a night of heavy rioting by Arab residents in the city, on May 12, 2021 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Arab communities have seen a surge in 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.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-government group campaigning against violence in the Arab community, since the beginning of the year, over 50 Arabs and Palestinians have been killed in violence or crime-related circumstances in Israel, mostly in shooting incidents.
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