Man Murdered in Nazareth as Arab Sector Homicides Continue

Jerusalem, 3 December, 2023 (TPS) -- A 38 year-old Arab man was shot and killed in Nazareth on Sunday morning in what police say was conflict between criminals.

According to the Abraham Initiative, a Jewish-Arab organization which promotes Arab integration into Israel society, 223 Arab-Israelis have been killed in criminal violence since the beginning of 2023.

For comparison, 116 Arab-Israelis were murdered in 2022.

This year’s 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, trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.

Local leaders have called on the government to take action.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported giving the Shin Bet security agency a more active role in fighting the rising crime, but this suggestion was opposed by both Arab leaders and Shin Bet officials.

In the nearly two months since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacres and the war in Gaza, there has been a drop in crime in the Arab sector.

On Thursday, Israeli security forces seized 137 guns in the largest weapons smuggling bust from Jordan. Police believe the weapons were destined for Arab criminal groups.