Four Arab Israelis were murdered in separate incidences on Friday, Hebrew media reported, all occurring in Arab-majority cities and towns.
Muhammad Amash, 24, was shot dead in Jisr e-Zarka on Friday night. Sources state that Amash was shot while crossing the street by someone who was waiting for him on a roof. He was pronounced dead at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera after being evacuated by MDA paramedics.
The background of the incident is likely a dispute over drug trafficking, Maariv reported.
Earlier that day, Ha'am Abu Zarqa, 26, was shot dead in Umm al-Fahm. Zarqa's death was confirmed by MDA paramedics who immediately arrived at the scene of the incident.
All incidences occurred within 16 hours. A suspected connection between all the murders is being investigated by police, Ynet reported.
The murders in Nazareth
It is suspected that Zarqa's death was revenge for the double murders in Nazareth hours earlier, where two brothers from a criminal organization were shot.
The brothers, 28-year-old Khaled Saadi and his 31-year-old brother Ali Saadi, were shot to death at their home. Five assassins knocked on the door of the house and identified themselves as "police." Their mother opened the door, and the assassins entered and shot the brothers at point-blank range, according to the Ynet report. The investigation was transferred from the police to Lahav 433, Walla reported.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived in Nazareth after the murders, and told the city's mayor that "the State of Israel also includes this city. We understand that there are crime families here who murder each other, but we must control the rule of law here in Nazareth," he said.
"I worry about the residents here. In the end, we must wage a brutal war on crime. The Israel Police lacks many things - it lacks budgets and policemen," Ynet reported Ben-Gvir as saying. "There are excellent people here, police officers whom I only praise, and I know they lack the tools, so I intend to act in the coming months so that they get tools to deal with crime."
“There are excellent people here, police officers whom I only praise, and I know they lack the tools, so I intend to act in the coming months so that they get tools to deal with crime.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir
Twelve people have been murdered in mostly Arab areas since the beginning of the year, the report said.