The wave of violence and crime in Israel’s Arab sector continued over the weekend, with three men in their 20s murdered in two separate shooting incidents in Ramla and Rahat on Saturday. Large police forces opened investigations into both cases and launched manhunts for suspects.
The first incident occurred Friday night, when officers from the Shephelah District began investigating a shooting in Ramle. According to the initial investigation, the motive was an ongoing blood feud. Two men in their 20s were shot dead while sitting in their car on Route 431, near the Ramla South interchange.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, paramedics and EMTs who were called to the scene pronounced both men dead. Dr. Shai Barnes, a volunteer MDA physician, said: “We saw two men around 25 years old in their car, unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with severe penetrating injuries to their bodies. We performed medical examinations but unfortunately their injuries were significant and we had no choice but to pronounce them dead.”
In a separate incident Saturday evening, police opened an investigation following a shooting in the city of Rahat. A 27-year-old local resident was critically wounded in the shooting and pronounced dead shortly afterward by an MDA team. According to police’s initial assessment, the motive was criminal.
Rahat police station officers who were called to the scene began collecting evidence and launched searches to locate suspects. Guy Wigder, a senior MDA paramedic, said: “The victim was lying in a yard, unconscious and suffering from penetrating injuries to his body. We provided medical treatment and performed advanced resuscitation efforts, but his injury was critical and we ultimately had to pronounce him dead.”