Jerusalem, 4 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A wave of deadly violence in Israel’s Arab community continued with a triple murder on Tuesday night, bringing the number of Arab citizens killed in 2026 to 32.
The victims, all residents of the Arab city of Tira in central Israel and in their mid-20s, were traveling together in a car when they were shot at close range near the cities of Kfar Saba and Ra’anana. The driver lost control and crashed into a passing bus. No injuries were reported among bus passengers.
magen david Adom (MDA) paramedics arriving at the scene found the three men trapped inside the vehicle, all suffering from severe gunshot wounds.
“The three men were in their vehicle unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with injuries to their bodies,” said MDA paramedic Liad Agi. “We performed medical examinations, but unfortunately their injuries were significant and we had no choice but to pronounce them dead at the scene.”
Firefighters were called to extract the bodies from the wreckage. Rabbi Reshef Mor Shishatsky, the incident commander from Israel’s fire and rescue Service, described the rescue efforts as complex. “We arrived at a very difficult scene where a private vehicle had collided with a bus,” he said. “The firefighters carried out prolonged operations to free three trapped lifeless people.”
Following a manhunt, police announced the arrest of three suspects, all residents of Tira. Police believe the killings were criminally motivated and linked to a blood feud between families.
The Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, said the shooting reflects a broader national failure. “Tonight’s triple murder should shock the entire country,” it said. “Arab citizens are murdered en masse in the streets every day. We must act together, Jews and Arabs, to eradicate crime. We have no time to waste.”
Knesset member Gilad Kariv, who sits on the National Security Committee, also condemned the situation. “Five minutes from Kfar Saba and Ra’anana — a triple murder,” he said. “The State of Israel is abandoning two million Arab citizens to criminal organizations, illegal weapons, and a collapsing police force.”
Earlier on Tuesday, a separate shooting killed a 25-year-old man in the northern Arab village of I’billin.
The two shootings in I’billin come amid a continuing 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.
An estimated 40,000 Israeli Arabs and Jews demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, calling on the government to take stronger measures against the surging violence.
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