In 2023, Ben-Gvir nixed an initiative devoted to tackling crime among Palestinian communities [Getty]
A Palestinian citizen of Israel was shot dead Thursday night, just hours after protesters called on police to take stronger action against rising crime in Arab communities across the country.
Muhammad Wafiq Hejazi, 53, was killed when gunmen ambushed him and his wife at their home in the Palestinian town of Tamra, in the Lower Galilee.
He is the 209th Palestinian citizen of Israel – often referred to as a ’48 Palestinian – to be killed since the start of the year.
According to the Times of Israel, assailants broke into Hejazi’s home in the evening and opened fire, injuring his wife. Both were taken to a hospital in Haifa, where Hejazi succumbed to his wounds.
Police said they had opened an investigation but reported no arrests at the time of publication.
The murder came just hours after hundreds of residents in the nearby town of Kafr Yasif staged demonstrations demanding that police take the wave of killings in Arab towns seriously.
Last week, Nidal Masadeh, 35, a Kafr Yasif resident, was shot dead while at work.
Killings in Israel’s Palestinian communities have sparked widespread anger and frustration among victims’ families, who accuse police of negligence and indifference toward Arab citizens.
Murders in Israel disproportionately affect Palestinian communities, with only about 15 percent of cases solved, according to a report by The New Arab from earlier this year.
Israeli authorities have often attributed the violence to internal gang disputes, a claim rejected by many Palestinian citizens who accuse the state of failing to protect them.
Blame for the escalating crime wave has been directed at both the police and political leadership.
In 2023, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dismantled a dedicated police unit established to combat crime in so-called “Arab” towns. Murder rates have since reached record highs.
Ben-Gvir has been accused of deliberately neglecting the crisis by demoting experienced officers and appointing others with little expertise in dealing with crime in Palestinian communities.
