Five men have been shot dead in Israel in what appears to have been an attack related to criminal gangs.

The mass shooting at a car wash in the Arab town of Yafa an-Naseriyye, near Nazareth, is believed to have been the deadliest such incident in years.

Israeli media suggest it could be linked to a feud between two families.

It follows a sharp rise in the number of murders among Israeli Arabs, with complaints that the country's hard-line government is ignoring the problem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was shocked and that his government was determined to stop the chain of murders.

"I am determined to bring in the Shin Bet [security service] as an aid to the Israel Police against these criminals, against the criminal organisations, against these murders," he added.

The police force said officers had begun an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting and were searching for suspects.

Earlier in the day, a three-year-old girl and her male relative were seriously wounded in another shooting in Kafr Kanna, another town near Nazareth, in what police believe was a criminal dispute.

Israel's Arab minority accounts for about one-fifth of the population, but in recent years it has experienced the vast majority of the country's murders.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a group which promotes Israeli Arab and Jewish equality, 97 people have been killed so far this year - nearly three times as many as in the same period last year.

Most victims are young men but increasingly others are caught up in a violent crime wave linked to illegal guns, family feuds and organised gangs.

The leader of the opposition, former prime minister Yair Lapid, said the surge in the number of murders was unacceptable and called on Mr Netanyahu to personally take charge of government efforts to halt it.

Another prominent opposition politician, Benny Gantz - a former army chief and defence minister - called for far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is responsible for policing, to be sacked.

Mr Gantz said Mr Ben-Gvir, who has a past conviction for racism and is known for his anti-Arab rhetoric, "cannot handle such a complex event, and it is doubtful that he is interested in handling it".

But Mr Ben-Gvir blamed decades of neglect and lack of governance for the crime wave, saying there had been a "Wild West in the Arab sector to all intents and purposes".

He expressed support for the prime minister's decision to involve the Shin Bet but also urged him to press ahead with establishing a "national guard".

In theory, Israeli Arabs - or Palestinian citizens of Israel, as many prefer to be called - have equal rights with Jewish citizens, but they routinely complain of state discrimination.

Bereaved families and Arab officials claim that police inaction is one of the main reasons for the endemic violence plaguing their neighbourhoods.

In recent years there have been mass protests by Arab communities.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Yolande Knell

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