Dr. Ziad Abu Abed, a young Arab doctor who worked at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, passed away from gunshot wounds after being shot on his way home from work on Wednesday, according to Ynet.
The shooting was reportedly the latest in a series of violent escalations in a conflict between two families in the city of Rahat. Ynet reported that the Abu Abed and Abu Gama families have been feuding over a land dispute since 2013.
The attack on the doctor occurred after a doctor from the Abu Gama family was reportedly attacked. Members of the Abu Abed family told Ynet that Dr. Abu Abed tried to distance himself from the violence but was aware of the potential danger to his life.
Residents of Rahat mourned the death, remembering Dr. Abu Abed as a respected, valued, “young and honest man who didn’t get into trouble.”
The Arab Doctors Association in the Negev released a statement of mourning and condemnation after Dr. Abu Abed’s passing.
Hearts full of sorrow and pain
“With a heart full of sorrow and pain,” the statement described the event as a “double tragedy” for the organization and community members.
The statement went on to call on official bodies and the police “to bear full responsibility for the fight against crime and violence,” echoing statements from Rahat residents who shared their belief that the shooting could have been prevented if the police cracked down on gun violence in the Arab community.
A family member of Dr. Abu Abed told Ynet that the city “suffers from daily shooting, and the entire country is failing to deal with violence.” Ynet reported that in the same week as Dr. Abu Abed’s passing, two others had been murdered as a result of unrelated family feuds.
The Arab Doctors Association in the Negev expressed “intense anger” at the “phenomenon of violence raging in Arab society,” calling upon their community to “strengthen the values of tolerance and mutual responsibility.”