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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

A man was fatally shot Friday in northern Israel in what appears to be a criminal feud, as the number of murder victims in Israel's Arab community rises to 118.

Basem Lofti Sarhan, 31, was in his car when he was shot at close range in the Arab town of Nahf in the country's north. Police opened an investigation under the pretense of a criminal dispute.

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Sarhan's murder is the latest in aparticularly deadly year for Israel's Arab community, which experienced a staggering rise in crime and intercommunal violence. In the country's north, Arabs are involved in 99 percent of shootingsand murders.

According to the Abraham Initiatives NGO, of those murdered this year, 99 were citizens and 19 non-citizens; 15 were women; and 56 were 30 years old or younger. Of the 118 murders this year, 98 involved a firearm.

Police have increased their efforts to tackle the proliferation of firearms in Arab towns.Last month,police arrested 65 suspected arms dealersin an unprecedented sweep operation.

However, the country's police have regularly come under fire for their handling of the rising crime wave. In a recent presentation to the government, police representatives outlined their plan to reduce crime in the Arab community by 10 percent in 2022.

After receiving blowback for their goal of 100 murders in 2022, the Public Security Ministry was demanded to present a more ambitious goal. The government also allocated 2.4 billion shekels ($780 million) as part of a national five-year plan to combat crime and violence in the Arab community.

There has been a significant drop in the Arab community'sfaith in the police's abilityto address the ongoing homicide rate. Only 23 percent of the killings in the Arab Israeli community this year have been solved, compared with 71 percent in the Jewish community.

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Israeli shot dead in north is 118th murder victim in Arab community this year - Haaretz

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