A 29-year-old man was fatally shot in the Arab city of Kafr Kara on Thursday morning as a wave of homicides in the Israeli-Arab sector continued. The murder was the second of the weekend.
Firas Abu Fana, 29-years-old, was murdered, also from a gunshot wound, in Kafr Kara in the Sharon area. Police opened an investigation into this murder.
“The man was lying unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing, with penetrating injuries to his body. We performed medical examinations, but his injuries were critical and we were forced to declare him dead at the scene,” said Magen David Adom emergency medical technician Moshe Brenner.
Police immediately set up roadblocks and began searching the area for suspects, though no arrests have been reported. Authorities said the circumstances of the shooting are under investigation and noted it may have a criminal background.
20-year-old Milad Shehadeh was murdered in the Northern town of Abu Snan late Wednesday night. Police said he was critically wounded from a gunshot wound, and was later pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel.
These murders mark a seven-percent increase in victims, according to the Abraham Initiatives, a peace-building NGO that tracks Arab-sector crime rates.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 187 Arab-Israelis have been murdered in 2025.
Pattern of violence in Arab sector continues
The spike continues a pattern of violence in the Arab sector, which saw 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 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.