Crime

By Pesach Benson • August 4, 2025

Jerusalem, 4 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Nineteen-year-old Muhammad Hijab was shot dead in the Israeli-Arab village of Abu Snan on Sunday night, the Israel Police said on Monday morning as a wave of Arab sector homicides continued.

Hijab, from the nearby village of Sheikh Danun, was pronounced dead at Nahariya’s Galilee Medical Center after being rushed there by Magen David Adom paramedics around 10:30 p.m. “Police officers from the western galilee Station opened an investigation shortly after receiving a report from medical officials,” the Israel Police said in a statement. “The background to the incident is apparently criminal.”

Officers at the scene began collecting forensic evidence and launched a search for suspects, setting up checkpoints in the area. Hijab’s murder brings the number of people killed in Arab communities in Israel this year to 151, as violent crime continues to surge.

The killing occurred just hours after two separate shootings in the Negev. A 40-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were seriously wounded when gunmen opened fire on a vehicle near Umm Batin. Two other minors, ages nine and fourteen, were lightly hurt, apparently after the vehicle hit a fence in the chaos. Police said the incident stemmed from a blood feud between families and confirmed a criminal motive.

Also on Sunday, a man in his 50s was moderately injured by gunfire while driving on Highway 6 near the Sorek Interchange. Investigators began collecting evidence at the scene, and authorities indicated that this shooting, too, appeared to be criminal in nature.

The bloodshed follows a string of deadly incidents in recent days. On Thursday, 80-year-old Latifa Shahin was killed by a stray bullet in Araba, in the Lower Galilee. She was sitting in her yard with family members when gunmen opened fire at parked cars and a house nearby. Relatives said they fled when the shots rang out, but Shahin, who had difficulty walking, couldn’t escape in time and was struck in the chest.

Hours later, Ahmed Atamna, a bus driver from the northern town of Kafr Qara, was killed in a targeted attack. Married and the father of two young children, Atamna was returning home around midnight when he encountered a gunman on a bicycle. He attempted to ram the assailant with his vehicle, according to witnesses.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, the murder was the 149th violent deaths in the Arab community this year.

The spike is a continuation of the Arab sector’s 230 murders in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli-Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The surge in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals. arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.

Critics argue the crime wave has worsened since Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became National Security Minister in 2022.