Four people killed in shootout in northern Israeli Arab town

Four people, including a mayoral candidate, have been killed in a shoot-out in the northern Israeli Arab town of Abu Snan, sending shock waves throughout Israel’s Arab society, which is suffering an unprecedented crime wave.

The four, all members of the Druze minority, were declared dead at the scene after paramedics found them in a field.

The latest incident brings the number of deaths linked to criminal violence in Israel’s Arab community in 2023 to 156 – over twice as many as in the same period last year. In only a handful of cases have the perpetrators been caught.

Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, which contains no Arab parties, promised to restore governance and law and order when they assumed power at the beginning of the year, but many Arab citizens, who make up about one fifth of Israel’s population, are now afraid to venture onto the streets.

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The latest shooting came just hours after Mr Netanyahu again called on the Israel security agency Shin Bet to deal with violent crimes in the Arab sector, following the killing the previous day of Abed Rahman Kashua, the municipal director of the Arab town of Tira.

The internal intelligence organisation has traditionally concentrated its efforts against Palestinian militants in the occupied territories and is reluctant to operate against Arab citizens of Israel.

Tira mayor Mamoun Abd Al-Hai accused Israel of abandoning its Arab citizens.

“The state of Israel has forsaken us. Forsaken our security. It’s time we think about how to protect ourselves and our children. It’s very clear from the government’s conduct that we are not even on their agenda,” he said.

President Yitzhak Herzog commented on the quadruple murder, saying the state must act.

“Every citizen of the Arab society in Israel lives today in terrible fear, heavy grief, and terrible anxiety. Each of the murdered is a complete world to his family and loved ones,” he said. “This is an emergency that requires determined measures by the state to eradicate crime and violence and prevent the loss of life.”

Officials have long been alarmed by the unprecedented crime wave in the Arab sector, with police warning that the violence, if unchecked, could spill over to the rest of Israeli society.

Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who holds ministerial responsibility for the police, described the Arab crime wave as a security threat on a national scale.

“Huge crime organisations operate in the Arab sector and they have armed militias with thousands of ‘soldiers’ who work for them and hundreds of thousands of guns. The Shin Bet has to be involved in all of the murder investigations,” he said.