Surge in Israeli Arab sector crime continues with triple murder in Negev

Tel Aviv [Israel], September 18 (ANI/TPS): Three Israeli Bedouin brothers in their 20s were shot dead early Thursday morning in the Negev in a violent attack that police said stemmed from a criminal feud.

Magen David Adom (MDA) teams pronounced two of the men dead at the scene and transported the third, critically injured, to the Soroka Medical Centre in Beer-Sheva, where he later died.

“Again, we are witnesses to an incident in which an unsuccessful weapons deal led to the despicable murder of three brothers,” Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy said in a statement.

A suspect from the same Bedouin clan was arrested hours later.

The victims were identified as Seger Kadi, Hamam Kadi, and Suleiman Kadi, all in their twenties.

“Three wounded men were lying unconscious on the ground with severe penetrating injuries. Two showed no signs of life, and we had no choice but to pronounce them dead. At the same time, we provided life-saving treatment to a 25-year-old man and evacuated him to the hospital in unstable condition,” said responding MDA paramedics Lilian Kartashov, Hadas Navoni, and Yasser Abu Rajila.

The triple murder was the latest in a wave of Arab-sector homicides.

Hours after the Bedouin shooting, Wafa Abu Ghanem, 26, was shot dead in her car in Ramle. Her 14-year-old sister and 4-year-old son were wounded and are in moderate condition. Police said the killing was a targeted attack stemming from an internal community feud and arrested Abu Ghanem’s husband, his mother, and another relative on suspicion of involvement.

Earlier Wednesday, 19-year-old Muhammad Marid was fatally stabbed in Haifa during a brawl. He was evacuated to Rambam Hospital in serious condition, but later succumbed to his injuries.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organisation that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 189 Arab-Israelis have been murdered in 2025.

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 organised crime groups fighting turf battles and attempting to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organisations 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. (ANI/TPS)

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