The head of a criminal organization in Israel's Arab sector was shot while in his car in Baka al-Gharbiya and is in serious condition, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Israel Police officers are scanning the area where the attempted assassination occurred and collecting evidence at the scene.
Three assassinations in Arab sector conflict
According to reports, the shooting was carried out as part of a wider conflict between criminal organizations in the Arab sector involving the Karaja crime family.
Three Israeli-Arabs were killed in three targeted assassinations within the space of three months. The first, 26-year-old Hany Musrati, was shot dead in May while shopping for groceries in the Arab village of Jatt, in the Triangle. Musratis' fiance was reportedly the daughter of a senior figure in the Karaja family.
A month later, Taufiq Aru, an uninvolved garage owner was also shot dead near his Jatt home, with police suspecting his assassination to be a response to the killing of Musrati.
According to Ynet, police suspect he might have been targeted because "a family member of his known Karaja family members," a police source said.
Lastly, Nadr Makalda, a 48-year-old Baka al-Gharbiya resident, was killed last June with no suspects arrested in his case. Police said they are examining potential connections to the killings of Aru and Musrati.
The crime boss was treated by Magen David Adom paramedics on the scene and rushed to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, where he is sedated and ventilated.
This is a developing story.