Jerusalem, 29 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A 34-year-old Arab Israeli man who was critically wounded in a shooting in northern Israel died of his injuries on Thursday, the same day President Isaac Herzog paid a solidarity visit to the Arab city of Sakhnin amid mounting anger over spiraling violent crime.
Police said the victim, identified by Israeli media as Mosab Abu Johar, was shot overnight in Nazareth. A resident of the nearby town of Yafia, he was evacuated to EMMS Nazareth Hospital, where doctors later pronounced him dead. No arrests have been made.
Abu Johar became the 25th Israeli-Arab murdered in 2026.
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, an umbrella organization of Israeli Arab municipal leaders, is calling for a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, President Herzog visited Sakhnin, a city in northern Israel, to meet local Arab leaders and express solidarity with the families of the victims. Speaking at the Sakhnin municipal building, Herzog described the situation as a national emergency.
“The fight against crime and violence in Arab society must be at the top of the national agenda and be addressed with the utmost determination,” Herzog said. “This is a national mission and a moral obligation. We must erase this stain from the face of Israeli society.”
During his visit, Herzog also met Ali Zabidat, a writer from Sakhnin who helped spark a wave of protests against violent crime. “From this place came a courageous call that said, ‘We are no longer ready,’” Herzog said. “That cry was addressed to the entire country.”
The president also met bereaved families, including the father of Dr. Abdullah Awad, a physician who was shot dead earlier this month while treating patients inside a clinic in the village of Yassif.
“Your pain is the pain of an entire country,” Herzog told the families. “You are not alone.”
Qassem Awad, the slain doctor’s father, urged the government to take responsibility. “We are an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” Awad said. “But the state has a basic obligation to maintain our security. We don’t want weapons, we don’t want violence, and we don’t want revenge.”
The spike continues a pattern of violence in the Arab sector, which saw a record number of 252 Israeli-Arabs murdered in 2025 — more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.
The surge is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and attempting 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 Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became National Security Minister in 2022.
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