A man was shot and killed Saturday evening in Nazareth, as hundreds of Arab citizens in northern Israel took to the streets to protest the violent crime wave racking the community.
The victim, 37-year-old Jamal Mazawi, was found by medics with severe injuries. They took him to the hospital in the northern Arab city, but he soon succumbed to his wounds.
The man was killed as Arab protesters gathered in several towns in the north to decry the police response to surging gangland violence, saying law enforcement has not done enough to stop the bloodletting.
After news spread of Mazawi’s violent death, protesters gathered in Nazareth to condemn the killing, holding signs calling on police to get guns off the streets and “stop the war of crime.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of Sakhnin formed a human chain along the town’s main road, lit torches and held black flags, demanding law enforcement rein in the violence.
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A similar protest in Kafr Yasif devolved into clashes after demonstrators moved to block Route 70, which runs through the village. Police arrested Shadi Shweiry — the town’s former mayor and prominent figure in the left-wing Hadash party — during the commotion.
سخنين: سلسلة بشرية وإضاءة مشاعل تنديدا باستفحال الجريمة وتواطؤ الشرطة
تصوير: مصطفى الزعبي (عرب 48)
تغطية خاصة: https://t.co/fZ1BORyytq pic.twitter.com/Y3w87u9Fyg
— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) January 24, 2026
Law enforcement said Shweiry was arrested after attacking police officers. Hadash party activists insisted the opposite was the case, saying Shweiry was violently arrested by police in what they dubbed “an attack on the right to protest.”
Police shared a brief clip of the incident, in which a Border Police officer is seen shoving Shweiry into a dense crowd of protesters. Shweiry then lunged back with a wooden sign pole, knocking a recording device from the hands of the officer filming.
כפר יאסיף עימותים עם המשטרה כי אות מחאה על הפשיעה במגזר והפתרון הוא אני שוב אומר הפתרון : חוקים שיחולו עלינו כולנו כמו בסעודיה ואיחוד האמיריות ושלטון צבאי בתוך המגזר הערבי ורק זה יפתור את הבעיה הגדולה וגם אני מפחד לצאת עם בני הקטן למקומות ציבוריים בגלל גל הפשיעה שפוקד את הגליל pic.twitter.com/nbVyrRtHj0
— כל החדשות בזמן אמת (@Saher_News_24_7) January 24, 2026
Footage taken prior to the arrest showed Shweiry attempting to move into an open spot on the road before being forcefully pushed back into the crowd by two Border Police officers.
He was to appear in court at 8:30 p.m. Saturday for a remand hearing.
An organizer of the demonstration was also detained and later released for “violating the conditions of the protest,” police said.
Hadash said the detained woman, Hendia Saghir, is also affiliated with the party and directs its activities in the coastal city of Acre and surrounding area.
كفر ياسيف: متظاهرون يغلقون شارع 70 الرئيس خلال وقفة منددة باستفحال الجريمة وتواطؤ الشرطة
تصوير: إيناس مريح (عرب 48)
التفاصيل: https://t.co/fZ1BORyytq pic.twitter.com/0y8u2P1msD
— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) January 24, 2026
The protesters, several of them bereaved relatives of homicide victims, chanted, “stop the crime” and “our children’s blood isn’t cheap.” Frustration in Arab society has been mounting in recent days over the deadly criminal violence that, in less than a month into the new year, has claimed 21 lives.
Among those demonstrating was the family of Nabil Safiya, a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed in November by stray bullets during an evening outing in the town. The boy’s mother, Rawiya, told the Arab48 news outlet that protesters’ demands are “simple and legitimate”: Police should get firearms off the streets and guarantee residents’ safety.
Saghir, the detained organizer, similarly urged police to “collect weapons and pursue the criminal gangs that have infiltrated the Arab community,” saying they bore responsibility for the massive uptick in violent crime. She called on Arab citizens to continue protesting and not let up until “tangible results are achieved.”
“At the same time he [Shweiry] was arrested, there was another murder in Nazareth,” said Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Kassif, who attended the protest. “But there the police aren’t present; they are present against the protesters, not against the crime.”
A child stands in front of a large banner that reads, ‘Together we will overcome violence, crime and extortion. Sakhnin answers the call,’ during a protest against the violent crime wave sweeping Arab society in Sakhnin, northern Israel on January 22, 2026. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Arab cities and towns throughout Israel went on a day-long strike on Thursday, decrying the police’s failure to stem the near-daily homicide in the community. The day was capped off by a massive march in the northern city of Sakhnin, which drew tens of thousands of people.
The High Follow-Up Committee has called another massive rally to be held in Tel Aviv on Saturday next week.
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