25-year-old Arab Man Shot Dead in Northern Israel

A 25-year-old Arab man was killed, and another person was seriously wounded, in a shooting in northern Israel on Saturday – the latest instance of community violence this year.

The incident occurred in the Arab town Kafr Qara, southeast of Haifa. A man allegedly opened fire on the two victims while they were in Kafr Qara's old town.

Emergency services arrived at the scene and evacuated the pair to the Hillel Yaffeh Medical Center in Hadera, where the 25-year-old man, identified as Said Kabaha, was pronounced dead.

Israeli police said they believe that the incident was criminally motivated. They added that police officers were searching the area for the suspect.

Kabaha is the second Arab murder victim in Israel in a matter of days. Another man, 26-year-old Yassin al-Turi, was shot dead in Rahat's fourth district on Wednesday. Al-Turi was wounded and was taken to the hospital, but was later pronounced dead.

After an assessment of the situation, police suspected that the murder was motivated by a family dispute over land. The central unit of the Negev police and the Rahat station police arrested three relatives in their 20s on suspicion of involvement in the murder.

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According to a count by Haaretz, 97 people have been murdered in instances of Arab community violence since the beginning of this year, including 13 women.

In the corresponding period last year, the number of Arabs murdered in instances of community violence was 117, and 126 were killed throughout the entirety of 2021.