One suspect was killed and a second suspect was arrested in a shootout with Israel Police after they fired at a bank in the Druze village of Maghar in northern Israel on Saturday night, according to Israel Police.
The suspects fired at a bank, a clinic and then at undercover police officers who tried to arrest them. A passerby in her 20's was moderately injured in the shootout and was evacuated along with the injured suspect who later died to the hospital.
Police found two automatic rifles at the scene.
"Israel Police are fighting a fierce war on violence in the Arab sector, with an emphasis on the illegal use of weapons," it said in a press statement on Sunday morning. "Israel Police officers are sometimes required to deal with complex and dangerous situations in dealing with armed criminals."
"Close to my inauguration, I declared the fight against the phenomenon of protection payments as a major goal," said Public Security Minister Amir Ohana in response to shooting overnight. "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the public security minister has presented the issue like this. The meaning is not purely declarative; rather it generates a series of changes within the Israel Police.
"I said during my visit to the farmers and the heads of the councils in the North that it would not be a whirlwind and be done, but an ongoing struggle whose results would be seen within months and years," added Ohana.